


A Story of Ink and Venom

by FrightKnight



Series: Adventures of Ink [1]
Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Venom (Comics), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Developing Friendships, F/M, Friendship/Love, Gen, Marvel said Fuck Timelines so I did Too, Mild Gore, POV First Person, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Symbiotic Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-06-27 05:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19783876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrightKnight/pseuds/FrightKnight
Summary: Things are not well in the city of Brooklynn. Villainy is at an all-time high, the X-Men are a laughing stock after taking Wade Wilson on their team and your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman hasn't been seen in months. These are not important to college student Nina Knight though, who is just trying to live an ordinary life while keeping her own mutation under wraps. That is to say, until she runs into the action head-on one day, and is tossed into a life she never expected to happen. Faced with new allies, new enemies and a whole new set of feelings to deal with this is her story of how she spiraled into her new chaotic adventure.





	1. The Video that Started it All

**Author's Note:**

> It's here! It’s happening! I’m reworking the old story I was working on to hopefully build a better version in its place!  
> Hopefully, this time around it flows a little better, and I hope y'all enjoy where the story goes!
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated and I hope y'all enjoy the story ahead! (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*

## Moments.

Buddha says that one moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world.

I was never one for religion but I think he was onto something there. I mean, look at heroes, they’re faced with moments like these every day. Ones that will save a life and ones that will take them away the second you hesitate. Moments that will give you the upper hand if you’re lucky and others that will leave you flat on your ass if you're not.

Or _worse_. 

Now, I'm no hero by any means, but I like to think that the moments I experienced today would help shape what was in store for me tomorrow. A moment that would maybe even help shape me into something more someday.

So I guess with that, let me ask you this:

Just what moment was it that led me to witness the death of a real superhero in his time of need? And not just any run of the mill death either. I'm talking blood everywhere, in my mouth, in my _hair_. 

Everywhere.

How had it all gone _so_ wrong _so_ fast?

I suppose in order to know that we have to go to the beginning, back to the morning where my life was about to be given a serious overhaul into chaos.

Back to college.

-

It was late. _Very_ late.

A judgemental 3:45 AM stared back at me from the corner of my laptop's screen and a sigh of defeat escaped me. The Witching hour no longer belonged to ghosts and demons, but to college students that waited until the very last minute to get their 10-page essays written before it was too late. I was no exception to this, sacrificing the last remaining brain cells I had left to crap out what I deemed a passable paper on the artists of old. 

At least that's what I _had_ been doing. 

Now I sat with my legs drawn up to my chest as I stared with growing exhaustion at my laptop. The glowing screen was flooded with news reports of the latest superhero successes and the villains they caught around town. This wasn’t exactly an uncommon thing for a city like Brooklynn. In fact, it was because of this city being such a hot zone for criminal activity that we had things like ‘ _Top 10 Villain Blunders of the Week_ ’ to begin with. Then you know how it goes: one video leads to another and suddenly you're knee-deep in superhero wiki lore and trying to find their real identities.

Only that didn't happen this time.

Instead, strangely, my eyes spotted something that I hadn’t expected to see.

I lurched forward, immediately feeling my body protest as I inspected the article that had grabbed my attention. It was a few days old, a journalist touching base on a series of unfortunate events from almost 6 months ago. A superhero trainee under the name of Deadpool had landed himself in hot water after murdering an orderly from the Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation in what was later seen as a cold-blooded attack in the eyes of the media. Just reading the name of the facility left a bad taste in my mouth, but the video it included to recount the moment made the sensation even worse.

It was old, I had watched it over a dozen times in the recent months and yet I still found myself glued to the screen with morbid curiosity. The cameraman who had been focusing on a tense-looking reporter at the scene now fumbled clumsily over to the main event, a stout looking teen who had earlier called himself Firefist. I’d give you three guesses why he called himself that but taking a look at his clenched fists answered it all too well. 

He stood separated from a cautious crowd of police and bystanders with hands that radiated heat strong enough to cause everyone surrounding him to keep their distance. That was if all the destroyed wreckage around him hadn’t given them more than enough reason to stay back already.

As many times as I had seen this, I still felt bad for him. He looked worn down and angry, but more than anything was the noticeable expression of fear he wore, like a trapped animal willing to do anything to escape. A feeling that I was once all too familiar with.

I sank back into my chair and sighed. No amount of times seeing that clip made that look any easier to see. It was one that hit so close to home and yet I couldn't pinpoint it no matter how many times I tried. I closed my eyes and listened to him continue to threaten the police ballsy enough to step towards him:

_"Stay back, I'll **burn** you!"_

The words didn't resonate, but the tone did. Somewhere in the back of my mind was a memory lurking that I couldn't quite touch no matter how hard I focused on it. A memory sealed away so tight that even thinking about it caused my thoughts to grow numb, but that panic in the boy's voice always caused it to stir like a creature from its slumber. Sometimes I felt like I was close enough to grasp it, all I needed was to push a little farther-

A loud bang erupted nearby and my eyes shot open in a panic. Whatever unconscious soul searching I had been doing was broken as I scrambled to catch my headphones now threatening to fall off my face. I looked around, both frantic to find the source to the sudden noise while also hoping no one saw my embarrassing act only to be greeted with muffled laughter nearby.

"Buenos Dias, Princesa! Did I wake you?"

I rubbed my eyes haphazardly and looked to the side of the small room to find a redheaded amazonian grinning back at me from the window. To my utter surprise, the sun was now out and shining it’s smug rays straight into our dorm as I stood to greet the grinning assailant. My bones protested with various cracks in response as I shuffled to my bed and threw open the window to face her.

"That wasn’t funny, Ava! What are you even doing up so early?" I asked through an unavoidable yawn, but I already knew the answer. Ava Santana was a Dominican powerhouse of energy, a mysterious enigma that seemed to only love running, German beer and, for a few crazy months, _me_. When she wasn’t burning the candle at both ends to keep her insane track record and an intimidating 4.0 GPA up, she was usually creating some wild new building blueprints that she was proud to show off to you before stealing your girlfriend. 

I didn’t know how she did it all and at this point, I was too afraid to ask.

She lifted herself onto the windowsill before tossing her shoes inside, swinging her long tan legs onto my bed to join me all in one fell swoop. All I could do was blink in surprise, knowing I would have faceplanted halfway through if I even attempted this motion. Her hazel gaze studied me curiously now. 

"We both know why I’m awake, or were you expecting someone else to carry our track team to victory?" She teased, her face close to mine with a devious smile planted on her lips. “What's _your_ excuse though, Sleeping Beauty? Building more schematics? Spying on the police scanner? Or _maybe_ staying up late to watch _him_ again?”

“ _Me_? _What_? Hah, _no_. Can’t a girl just finish her essay like a good normal college student?”

“You _could_...if you’re not Nina Knight,” another voice announced beside us and I turned quickly to see another familiar face smirking smugly back at us. Her name was Bambi Banks and as much of a best friend she had been to me in the last year she was also what some would call a _terrible_ _influence_. At least that's what our dorm dubbed her when she wasn't snapping candid shots for the Daily Bugle. You thought _you_ had a bad idea? She had 10 at the ready that would probably get you put on one of those Top 10 lists. But like I said, she was the best friend a girl could ever ask for. 

Even if she now holding my laptop in her hands frozen on a very particular rear-ended shot of the video I had been watching that caused my face to burn.

“Listen, I really _was_ working on my essay!” I protested as I reached for it only to fall short as Bambi moved just out of my range and looked to Ava curiously.

“I don’t know, Ava. Does this look like an essay to you?”

“You’re the journalist in training, tell us what you see.”

“Well if I had to title this ‘essay’, I would say ‘ _10 Reasons I Want This Man to Sit on My Fac-’_ ”

“Alright, enough! You caught me,” I protested as I made another attempt to grab my laptop and finally succeeded, cradling it in my arms with a frown plastered on my face. “I just wanted to hear the update on this story…It put a lot of people in hot water y’know.” I added before taking a seat back at my desk, ignoring their victorious snickers. As much as I did have ulterior motives for watching this video I really did want to see the outcome of what was considered a nationwide fiasco. Despite both the trainee and the teen being taken to the Ice Box to be reprimanded the X-Men and mutantkind as a whole were put under fire for their actions and the remainder of the story fell to a hush to the media in the months after.

Bambi rolled her eyes and ran her hands through her hair, flecks of hot pink from her bangs peeking through her blonde locks as she gave an exasperated sigh over my earnest answer.

“I really shouldn’t be saying this _but_ the guy that looked like he was a walking talking condom? He was in the right all along.”

“No bullshit? _How_?” I pressed, now fully taken by the sudden turn of events.

“I heard it from some guy at the Bugle. That Essex place was nasty business for mutants, another conversion camp or something so the government was super desperado to keep it under wraps.”

"No way..."

“Leave it to the government to try and kill the truth,” Ava muttered under her breath as she stood to leave, pausing to take one of my hands in hers to inspect it thoughtfully. The contrast was big between us; her hands were long and slender while mine were small and discolored with sooty black hue at their tips. “At least this means you won’t have to hide anymore.”

I knew that she meant well but the words still caused me frown. Not many people knew that I myself was a mutant. Hell, when you lived in a society where people who weren’t old, white, or male were already frowned upon like the next bubonic plague it wasn’t something you wanted getting out. Throw a genetic mutation that gave you unusual powers into the mix and you _were_ the plague. I was lucky to have people around me that knew and accepted me like I was normal, but the reminder that myself and many like me had hidden for so long during this still stung. 

Bambi seemed to sense this and absent-mindedly pressed the play button on the video once more as if to distract my thoughts and boy did it work. I felt my face grow warm once more as the clip played. There, once frozen on the screen had been the perfect back shot of a man sprawled over the trainee after his killer shot, a man that now stood a good few feet over everyone else as the police did the cleanup of the area.

A man covered head to toe in metal.

He went by Colossus, but his real name was Piotr Rasputin. At least this is what Google told me when I went super-sleuthing around after I saw him in action for the first time. When he wasn't saving the day with his ragtag team of heroes he was teaching at Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Learning, a sanctuary for mutants who wanted to feel safe while honing their skills to help mold a better tomorrow. 

I had met Xavier himself years ago on my own tour of the school with my parents. He was very nice and _very_ bald. The school itself had been created in his family's estate and transformed into the bustling safe haven that it now was, when it wasn't getting blown up by the villain of the week at least. Despite this terrifying fact I was always envious of those who could attend because I had always wanted to enroll myself. The only downside was that my parents didn't want a burnt corpse for a daughter in the aftermath. The audacity.

I threw my hands up to my face and groaned. “That could have been _me_ on his team! _I_ could have been hot for teacher!”

“And? What’s stopping you? If you like him so much why don't you just go to the school?" Ava called from our bathroom and I groaned again.

“It doesn’t _work_ like that. You can't just _go back_ to that school.”

“And why not? You’re a mutant right? You wanna meet other mutants, _right?_ Maybe get some chrome dome in the process if you get my drift,” Bambi winked while giving a performance with her hands to really sell her risqué comment.

I glared in response.

It was true, I was a mutant, and maybe I _did_ want that chrome dome. But I had tried the whole superhero vigilante thing before. 

_It didn’t go well._

An ancient MCR proverb once said ‘You can't swim, you can't dance and you don't know karate. Face it, you're never gonna make it.’ and you know what? I stood by that. It’s why I took my very particular set of skills and decided to waste away in one of Brooklynn's most prestigious art colleges -they're words, not mine- instead. It wasn’t ideal, with a dorm that I was convinced was made for ants instead of four people each with questionable living styles, but I had friends and I finally felt _normal_. I didn’t need to mess it up by visiting that school again.

As if reading my thoughts Bambi frowned and took one of my hands in hers, inspecting my inky black fingertips with thoughtful blue eyes.

“I _know_ you’re deadset on having a normal life here but you have a gift, Neeners. And you deserve to be able to show the world what you can do with it.”

“Yeah, I’m _really_ going to turn the world around with my ability to control ink,” I scoffed before taking my hand back gently and sighing. As much as I wanted to bury that side of me, I knew she had a point. I did want to meet others like me, be a part of something bigger and save the day once in a while. I wanted to show the world that I wasn't going to give up just because my past had made this what felt like an unobtainable dream.

This life though? This life was boring. But it was _safe_. And I needed safe.

I looked up to her and smiled softly. “I...will _consider_ going back there, if only to pay Mr. Xavier a visit and...maybe see how the school’s doing.”

“Code for visiting Mr. Heavy Metal Man, got it.” Bambi winked while imitating a heavy Russian accent as she took to moonwalking poorly out of the room. 

“You’re a terrible influence, Bam,” I called through stifled laughter before standing and stretching. As much as I hated her pep talks sometimes she was the reason I kept using my powers, keeping them as fresh as I could in case the chance ever arose to use them. Even now the schematics that Ava had so casually mentioned as a joke were tucked away under my desk to play with on a rainy day.

I must have stared at them too long because I felt Bam's hand gently touch my shoulder and I jumped in surprise.

“Did you hear Ava? Your alarm is going off,” she asked softly before nodding towards my phone. She was right, the soft tune alerted the room once more before I had the chance to turn it off and blinked in surprise. 

“Sorry, my mind was somewhere else...”

“Between Professor Colossus’ thick thighs we _knooow_. Don’t let that mans glutes cost you your job,” Ava teased before motioning for Bambi to follow her out the door. She held back and gave me a reassuring squeeze.

“Hey, don’t let our conversation from earlier freak you out. Baby steps, okay? No rush,”

“Right. Baby steps…” I whispered, my gaze falling back to my hands that I had begun wringing absentmindedly with growing anxiety. I looked back up to her and smiled. “Thanks, Bam. I appreciate it.”

“Hey, that’s what friends are for, right?” she grinned before disappearing behind the door. She was right. Friends were there to steer you onto the better path when you doubted yourself. This is what I tried to convince myself as I headed to the bathroom to prepare for the day ahead.

Now that I look back on it I was grateful for that peaceful moment of clarity between friends because after what happened later on, God was I going to need it.


	2. A Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A late start to work with some words of wisdom.

“No no no, I’m _so_ late!”

I shot out of my room like a bat out of hell, a jumble of keys in one hand and helmet in the other as I took to the morning bustle of the college sidewalks. Outside the scenery was a mixture of many things; remnants of winter slush that spring was finally beginning squash with a faint warm breeze. Not to mention the familiar scent of Brooklynn streets containing the disappointing waft of piss and alcohol it was so well known for. Or maybe I had just grown used to it in the year I had been here. 

I stopped abruptly at a covered up bundle and ripped the cover off hastily to reveal a shiny black Vespa beneath and beamed. Her name was Queen of the Night, Queenie for short, and what she lacked in speed she made up for in aesthetic. She was the last thing my parents had gifted me before I had started college. A way for them to feel at ease about me being on my own, or so they said. I think they just didn’t want me to use door dash on every little thing I needed at all hours of the night. Regardless, she was my pride, my joy, and I was finally able to ride her again after the harsh winter months had kept us separated for so long. 

My thoughts wandered as I got my belongings situated to head to work. About Bambi’s words, the news article, but also the strange group text Bambi’s sister had sent out as I had left:

_‘There’s a big bad out. Stay safe.’_

I wish I could say that wasn’t a normal occurrence for her, but Benni Banks had a knack of sending things just ominous enough to make you extremely suspicious of whatever she was saying. The only thing more suspicious was when she would walk with a startling pace out of our dorm with laptop in arms saying ‘This is fine, this is _absolutely fine_ ’ on repeat. If you knew Benni like we did that usually meant one of her cockamamie hacking attempts had backfired and things were certainly _not fine_. Despite this, we loved her, even down to the cryptic warnings she sent us while submitting to her insomnia sleeping habits that left us more curious than cautious.

A villain like that could have meant anything. Hell, we had just seen Lizardman take on the town before he stopped on his own accord. A malfunction with the machine he used to keep himself human, or something to that degree. And not a single hero came to help during that situation. I slumped forward at a red light and sighed. Despite New York being a hot zone for superheroes and villains alike, it was apparent that the villains were just becoming too much for them to handle. But that was something I couldn’t begin to think about, because I had arrived to work and there were more pressing matters at hand.

Like how I was about to be reamed for being 20 minutes late.

I stopped in front of an ordinary-looking business building not far off from the campus itself and removed my helmet. My hair fell in loose lazy curls around my face as the braid I had made was all but destroyed. Flecks of blue and black melded over my face as I tried to hastily tie it back into its original style, but failed miserably. Giving up I shoved my hands into my hoodie pockets, listening to the leather of my gloves squeak with discomfort before fishing out a flashy looking access card for the entrance. On one hand, I didn't know why I or anyone else needed one of these. Most of the sections inside of the building were offices doing god knows what. On the other hand, the lower levels were a different story entirely. I waited 3 seconds for the light to flash green before I stepped in, immediately greeted by a security guard I knew simply as Barry who nodded curtly to me as I took to the steps nearby. 

“A little late today, Miss Knight,” I heard him chuckle, fading away as I entered the basement. This was where all of the action happened, a steady hum of electronics and murmurs of people lost in conversations of studies they were working on. Some made brief pleasantries with me as I zipped through the small groups of lab coats huddling close to discuss their business while others seemed to eye me with disapproval. 

They didn’t matter though. The only person that mattered currently stood hunched over one of many counters in his lab as I watched from the glass window that separated us. I pressed my face against the glass to try to get his attention but he ignored me, making my nerves rise as I stepped within the sliding doors and opened my mouth to apologize.

“You’re late, Knight,” 

I closed my mouth and puffed my cheeks out. He always had a knack of catching me off guard. 

His name was Professor H. D. Renato, a man who I suspect would not reveal his initials to anyone until he was on his death bed. Even then that was being generous. He was a man of science and cleanliness, and the two coincided together nicely in his lab that he kept in pristine shape. It was ordinary for the most part. No colorful beakers, no boiling concoctions of evil ooze to take over the world with. Just a man with incredible dreads hunched over his desk studying something intensely. 

I don’t know how our strange relationship came to be, especially when our first encounter involved him walking in on me attempting to delete student debts with my powers. I was lucky enough at the time that despite the criminal act I was committing he was intrigued enough by my mutation to want to work with me on the promise that I never try a stunt like that again. I was even luckier that I had somehow gotten a job out of it instead of making a call to my parents from the Deans office explaining how I got kicked out of college for trying to show up Robin Hood.

He now turned as if sensing me studying him and folded his arms, dark eyes studying me back with amusement.

“What’s your excuse this time then?”

“Would you believe traffic?”

“I would not,”

“How about saving kids from a burning building?”

“Try again,”

“Fine,” I rolled my eyes, setting my bag down on one of the empty tables taking up the majority of the room. “I got side-tracked watching a video,” I admitted quietly before joining him behind his desk to get a glimpse of what his attention had been so caught up on. “Seems I’m not the only one distracted today though, huh?”

“You know me, I always have to see what fresh hell is destroying Brooklynn,” he muttered before turning the laptop to me. “You’ve seen it already, haven’t you?”

“Oh, no. Benni mentioned it before I got here but...” I whispered as I joined him in looking at the screen. The shots of whoever, or whatever it was were blurry. Though, it wasn’t hard to see the giant black humanoid looking creature completely demolishing a group of police vehicles like they were children's toys before the reporter I had seen so many times appeared on the screen. She had the same tense face on as always. Not that I could blame her, I’d look the same way if I were placed in a dangerous situation like this. And yet, she spoke in a strangely calm tone to give what little information she had on the matter:

_" ...suspect is assumed to be a high-level threat that was one of few said to be lost in the recent events of the Ice Box criminal transfer after destruction hit- "_

"Hang on, that was _months_ ago. They still haven't found the convicts that escaped?" I asked in surprise. He shook his head in response.

"Apparently not. The majority were assumed dead at the scene of the crime but…” he motioned to the screen again as we watched another brief blurry clip of the creature climb onto one of the surrounding buildings as heavily armored police got involved.

I whistled in response.

“With that in mind, I really don’t think you should go out on deliveries today, Nina…” he admitted after a short pause as he turned to me, folding his arms like he always did when faced with a tough subject. I could only roll my eyes in response.

“Don’t think I’m capable of holding my own?”

“Really? You’re asking me this in a ‘ _Hangover Hoodie_ ’?”

“Huh?” I asked with a confused frown but realized all too quickly what he was talking about. In my hurry to leave this morning I had shoved a blind hand into my wardrobe and picked out whatever hoodie I could find. Renato now stared at me with disappointed disapproval and sighed. It was no wonder his peers looked at me how they did now.

“I have always had the utmost faith in you, it’s your health I’m concerned about. You know this,”

“How could I forget when that’s all anyone ever talks about?” I answered shortly, watching his expression quickly fade to guilt. I knew he hadn’t meant anything by it, after all, it wasn’t _his_ fault that my body was the frail shell of what it used to be. Like I said, I tried the vigilante lifestyle once. It hit me harder than what I was ready for and now I paid the price. 

The result left me unable to use my powers without intense strain on my body, and the small group of family and friends that knew about it treating me like I was made of glass as a result.

He hovered his hand over my shoulder before reluctantly pulling back. Renato might have been a genius but his social cues were lacking in the compassion department. Or any social department in general for that matter. Instead, he did what he did every time there was an awkward situation and began furiously cleaning his glasses that had been sitting neatly on top of his head. 

“I just...you know I worry. And with your parent's trusting me-”

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them. But also, I’m almost 24, dude. Avoir une certaine foi,” I added with an innocent smile. He was not so taken with it

“You know I don’t speak French,”

“Have some faith,”

“That’s easy for you to say, you don’t have to be the one to deliver the news if something happens,” he responded shortly, striking my own guilt in response. Renato, despite his eagerness to take me under his wing, was still a cautious man. So cautious in fact that he had contacted my parents before solidifying his offer to work with me. They weren’t bad people, probably the farthest thing from that, they were just _so_ overprotective. I couldn’t blame them after the chaotic introduction into parenthood I had given them, especially after being the first mutant in our family. There was just a point where it was _too much_. This was one of those times.

There was a heavy silence between us as we both struggled to find something to say before he sighed and directed my gaze to the packages resting beside the counter.

“Alright, I’m trusting you with this, Nina. You’re lucky we have such a backlog to get through otherwise-”

“Otherwise you wouldn’t allow this, yes I know,” I called as I carefully scooped the boxes up and inspected them curiously as if the blank outer packaging would reveal their secrets.

They did not.

“Be careful with those. I put fragile on there for a reason,” he added as he tapped the large black font with a stern look. While most days he was teaching as a professor at my college part of his side job he was cooking up interesting concoctions for his clients. He had gotten so popular with said concoctions that he was praised as the mutant savant by many because of how serious he was to learn how to help us function in everyday society. I had never seen a regular human so dedicated to helping our cause and I wasn’t about to make him regret hiring me to help with it. 

Especially when it meant one day he could possibly help me be myself again.

I scoffed at his words and tiptoed carefully to the exit to avoid more of his harping while I could. “I got it, I got it. Shoot me the addresses?”

“Already sent to your phone, make sure you get _all_ of the signatures this time, Knight.”

“Yes, _dad,_ ” I mocked before shuffling out of the lab, careful to avoid any collisions with anyone out in the hall. Barry held the door open for me like he did every time I came up packed to the gills with boxes and we shared our usual polite nod to one another. 

Ten frustrating minutes of getting everything bundled up tight on Queenie and I was finally off to do the real work of the day. 

-

Being a courier was a fairly easy job. Renato excelled in helping mutants with noticeable mutations by creating temporary serums and little do-dads to aid in his search of making us feel more welcomed in society, and I helped distribute them. Since the clients themselves didn’t usually want to be seen by people other than their kind it was often a quick in and out job. The hardest part was just getting to them. Renato may have been science savvy but where he excelled in knowledge he lacked in direction, and it made me ever so thankful for GPS as I rounded the same corner I had been through multiple times in the last 15 minutes.

Thank god these weren’t timed deliveries.

Most of the stops weren’t an issue, usually consisting of an out of the ordinary mutant that just needed some basic supplies on top of what Renato made them. My favorite was a man with red skin and facial hair that rivaled Jack Sparrows. He was charming and straight to the point, and yet his tips were always more than accommodating. His name started with an A but the scribbled signature never revealed the rest.

Others however were... _strange_. Some left specific instructions in order for me to get confirmation signatures; knock two times on the door to wait for someone to knock back, more than a few required me to face the other way so I couldn’t see them but when I looked back the papers were signed, sometimes tip attached, sometimes other odds and ends. I once received a large quill-like spike as a tip for my efforts. It still sat on my desk to this day.

Before I knew it my final customer had come and I rode lazily in the familiar streets of Brooklyn to find the location. His was always my favorite to go-to, settled in a small suburb area with people that always seemed to be out and enjoying life without a care in the world. I parked in a vacant area up the street and started towards a cozy-looking home that had seen better days. Not that it was in bad shape, it was just old and in need of some serious case of TLC that its owner was unable to give.

I stopped at the sun stained red door and rang the buzzer once.

No response.

Twice.

Nothing.

“Mr. Lee?” I called, pressing my ear against the door to hear if he was making his way to answer. I was greeted with silence.

I began a hail mary of mashing the buzzer in a last desperate attempt until a soft chuckle interrupted me and I turned. An older man in dark shades sat at a bench nearby and waved to me, beckoning me towards him and I followed.

"Hey! Buongiorno!" he called merrily from his peaceful-looking seat and I laughed softly.

"That's _Italian_ , Mr. Lee. But bonus points for trying,"

"Ah, can't win 'em all I suppose." he chuckled before patting the seat next to him and I obliged, holding his delivery patiently in hand before he smiled warmly and stared forward. 

"Relax a little, something on your mind, kiddo? You seem tense!"

Mr. Lee always had a knack for sensing these types of things. He was one of Renato's oldest clients, and he wasn't even a mutant. He just enjoyed this old man's zest for life so much that he helped him with simple tasks and now the occasional french tutoring on the side that I gave him during my trips. I shifted hesitantly at his words and gave a noise of hesitation.

"Ah, no. I mean, kind of...I guess," 

"Go on then, I've got some time," he chuckled as he nudged me playfully.

I sighed sheepishly in response. I couldn’t exactly tell him my life story. He knew bits and pieces of it, but I was still on the fence about revealing my mutation. As much as I had trusted him it was hard to open up with this type of thing to anyone. Instead, I tried to word it rather poorly, tugging at my gloved hands as I struggled to find proper words.

“I just...I guess I just want to be something more than what I am, y’know? I worked so hard for this... _thing_ when I was younger and now I’m just this...this burnout of a courier wasting away at college because it was an easy out,” I started, unable to control the flood of commentary that was spilling out. “I wanted to be like...like Spiderman! Or the Avengers! _Something!_ I have a gift, my friends tell me every day that I have the means to overcome this obstacle holding me back... this _fear_ of breaking myself again but I know deep down my body can’t take it...that I can’t be this person they think I can be. And now everyone’s just waiting for me to break again like I'm glass! I hate it!”

There was a heavy silence and I snapped out of my stupor, now standing with hands held over my head in what was once frustration. I didn’t even know where all of it had come from. Like I said, Mr. Lee had a strange gift.

I shot my hands down sheepishly and took to sitting back to a quiet Mr. Lee who’s bushy white mustache seemed to twitch with thought.

“I’m sorry…” I quietly apologized before he turned to me, brows wrinkling under his shades with a frown plastered on his face.

“Don’t you _ever_ apologize for expressing yourself,” he ordered gently, resting a hand on my shoulder with a small squeeze. “Life is never completely without its challenges. But that’s what keeps it interesting.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! Listen, kid. I think you should do what your heart is telling you to do, 'cause deep down it knows that you'll do the right thing.”

“You think so?" 

“I _know_ so. I've been in the industry long enough to know a hero when I see one." he chuckled, a warm encouraging smile spreading across his face now. “You can't force these feelings out, kid. It’s got to come from inside of you. And in you? There's a fighter waiting to come out,” he said while poking his chest proudly. 

"Inside me..." I whispered, looking down at my hands in wonder. I knew what he meant, but what could someone like me feel when I wanted to do these things but couldn't? I knew in my heart of hearts what I wanted.

But would that be enough?

Before I could ponder more he stood and stretched his back, resting his weight on his cane. “Give it some thought, you’ve got time,”

“You’re leaving?”

“You’re not?” he teased before he pointed up to the sky and beamed. “I got a date with the universe soon, kiddo. Can’t keep her waiting.”

“Uh-huh…” was all I could muster as I stood and extended my hand out to him. I didn’t know if he was trying to be funny about his days being numbered or if he genuinely was expecting to travel the universe. Events in Brooklynn made it hard to shoot down either idea and Mr. Lee had a look so believable that for a second I actually believed him. “Well, if I don’t see you for a while...J'espère que tu trouveras ton aventure parmi les étoiles.” 

“Oh?”

“It means ‘I hope you find your adventure among the stars,’”

“Ah! Mer...mer...merci!” he stammered before taking my hand in his and beaming at me, a feeling of pride radiating off of him at his accomplishment. 

“You hang in there, kid. Your own adventure is going to find you soon enough! Remember,” he added, pointing to his chest once more before pointing to me. I nodded and smiled like some solemn promise had just been made between us and in some strange way, it had.

We said our goodbyes shortly after, a broken ‘au revoir’ from Mr. Lee as he sauntered into his home with delivery in hand while I took to Queenie with a little less weight on my shoulders. I was well over the time allotted for the drop-off, but I knew Renato would understand. It was why I always kept his deliveries for last after all, to have deep conversations that always kicked me back on track to the path I truly wanted to be on.

The path that would set things in motion not even an hour later.


	3. The Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A venomous encounter that leaves a devastating outcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this one's a chonkers, hope you enjoy! Comments and kudos are appreciated if you like how it's going! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

By the time I made it back to the labs most of the lower level was barren of people. A few stragglers lurked here and there to finish up what work they had while poor Barry struggled to stay awake during his patrol around the halls.

“Oh! Evenin’ Miss Knight,” he called, jolting awake as I passed. I shot him a hurried wave before continuing my brisk walk to Renato’s lab, still caught up in the conversation Mr. Lee and I had shared. He had planted a seed of motivation in me that I hadn’t felt in ages and now that it was here I wasn’t going to let it disappear.

“Hey, I’m back! Sorry for being so late, I got caught up with Mr. Lee. But also, I wanted to run something by y- _Bam_ ?” I started as I walked into his lab only to stop short when I saw her full figure leaning against one of the tables. Renato pushed his glasses up and sauntered towards me with hand outstretched for the signatures like he did every time I returned, clearly not interested in continuing whatever conversation the two had been engrossed in. I obliged, too caught up in seeing my best friend to finish my sentence. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know. Needed some downtime to work on my projects and thought you could use some company. But, I _also_ nabbed us some free dinner!" 

“I would hardly call the guilt-trip you gave me ‘ _nabbing free dinner_ ’,” Renato muttered under his breath as he returned to his desk, fully ignoring Bam’s eyes following him the entire time.

“Did it not work?” she asked smugly.

“A little _too_ well. Surprised you’re not following in your father's political footsteps with how well you persuade people," he retorted.

"Ugh, _way_ too drab. I wanna be the one that takes the scandal photos _of_ the politicians, not the one involved _in_ them. After all, how else am I going to get daddy to keep paying for my college tuition?" 

Renato shared a look of surprise with me and I shrugged in response, knowing all too well that he couldn’t beat Bambi at her own game. You see, despite her name being so innocent, she was _not._ To give context, the Banks were a lineage of strong politicians, and after her father had made the unfortunate decision to voice interest in a bill to out mutantkinds identities during talk at the dinner table both Bambi and Benni had made it their mission to give him absolute hell. All it took were a set of scandalous photos taken of the parties involved and the super-sleuthing computer skills of Benni’s and the two had not only gotten the bill vetoed but also gained a full ride to college to keep quiet.

They didn’t. But that was another story for another day. All I can say is that I was glad that she was on our side because gods help us if she wasn’t.

“Anyway,” Renato sighed as he fished out his wallet from his back pocket, carefully removing some crisp bills to place in my hand, “Hate to send you right back out but we thought you’d be back sooner. You still like Mr. Basils, right?”

“Hmm, hard to say since we eat there every other day,” I teased as I felt Bambi loop her arm around mine and drag me towards the door. “You got me my usual, right?” I called as I struggled against her pull, but Renato’s response was lost to the low hum of the machines whirring amidst the other rooms.

“Yeah, yeah, he got you something spicy. You like that, right?” Bambi answered as we headed back out into the streets once more and I nodded softly. Now that the sun was beginning to set the air grew cooler and I dove my hands into my hoodie to keep what remaining heat I had. I felt her grip on me grow a little tighter as we walked in casual silence, noticing now that she had sacrificed her own warmth for style, donning a light loose cardigan over a lace tank top where an array of different necklaces jingled with every step we took. Her lower half consisted of shorts and chic ankle boots that made me wonder how in the world she thought she could manage in this weather. I had no time to properly question this before she cocked her head to the side and grinned at me. “So what’s the scoop? What you were going to ask Renato?” she inquired curiously.

I gave a sheepish shrug in response.

“It’s nothing serious, just some hypotheticals…” I admitted, feeling my stomach twist with hunger as a familiar smell wafted through the air. In our cozy silence we had arrived at our destination sooner than expected, a Thai restaurant that was quoted as ‘The most lively hole in the wall in town!’, and I was inclined to agree. While it was small in size it almost never held an empty seat, and that was no different today as we shuffled into its busy entrance. 

This didn’t matter to Bambi though, who’s eyes to lit up with curiosity at my words as we shuffled past a small group of people to get to the register. 

“I love a good hypothetical. _Go on_ ,” she urged, but my attention had been fixated on the short double swinging doors that hid behind the counter. A small set of doors that had a smaller man burst through with arms that shot up in excitement at the sight of us moments later.

“My favorites, Pinky, and the Brain!” he greeted us warmly.

“Hi, Mr. Basil,” we chimed in unison, though Bambi’s grip grew slightly tighter around my arm at the nicknames. Mr. Basil was an elderly man who had opened this restaurant up with his wife many years ago. No one knew their real last name, only that they shared a love for basil so much that they made a business out of it, and it _worked._ Can’t fault someone for that logic, especially when he was so warmhearted about it.

He hummed softly as he rang us up, disappearing back through the door before I could ask how business was doing. 

Bambi, however, dropped her smile and rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, does he _always_ have to call us Pinky and the Brain? I'm the one with the higher GPA." 

"Well, why don't you tell _him_ that sir brags-a-lot," I asked smugly while pointing to the pink poking from under her beanie. She scrunched her nose up in response. 

“You still didn’t answer my question, by the way,” she added, the determination in her voice growing the longer I avoided talking about my earlier inquiries. “Spill the beans, Knight.”

“Okay, _okay._ It honestly wasn’t anything big I just...I was going to ask Renato if maybe he could pull some strings so I could visit Xavier’s School…” I admitted in a hushed tone, my hands wringing together nervously that others would overhear. I had never seen Bambi’s face light up as fast as it did when what I said clicked.

“No shit? Nina, that’s huge!” she grinned before wrapping her arms around me and squeezing tight. I smiled as I sank into her hug, a feeling of relief filling me at her support. As hard as I had tried to live a normal life I missed the days when I could be myself, and Bambi knew this all too well. It’s why she pushed me so hard to go back so I could spread my wings a little more, and after the pep talk I had gotten today from both her and Mr. Lee I felt it was finally time to fly.

She separated herself from me as Mr. Basil reappeared, this time with a large, neatly wrapped bag and a smaller, more colorful wrapped bag beside it.

“Sorry for the wait! For Little Levi, Mrs. Basil’s special treat!” he whispered warmly as he motioned to the small bag and I blinked in surprise. Little Levi was short for Little Leviathan, Renato’s pet cuttlefish The Basils had fallen in love with after seeing one of many proud pet owner photos Renato carried with him at all times. I’d tease him mercilessly for this if I wasn’t absolutely taken by that adorable crustacean myself.

I just make fun of him for everything else instead.

We thanked him and Bambi and I both each took a bag, her face set in a small, pleased smile as we set back for the lab.

“Why are you smiling like that?” I asked suspiciously, her pleasant silence causing me to grow suspicious.

“This sudden change of heart wouldn’t have anything to do with that video we saw this morning, would it?” she asked, her smile growing wider as I stopped abruptly and frowned. I hadn’t even thought of the video since we had watched it. Not even once.

Maybe once.

“What? No! _No_. What video?” I laughed nervously before Bambi stopped as well, nudging me with a sly smirk. 

“I’m _kidding._ But I am proud of you, Neeners. I know this is a big step for you and…” She was saying something to me, something that sounded borderline encouraging, or so I thought, but my attention was quickly drifting elsewhere. 

A trickle of people had begun rushing past us, voices of worry weaving in and out of my range of hearing before a low rumble broke through the air.

“Bambi,” I interrupted softly, the hushed voices I had been hearing now growing louder, footsteps growing more rapid as the trickle turned into a mass of panicked bodies running past us in the street. I watched as a wide-eyed man ran head-on into her before he picked himself up and continued running away unabashedly to both of our surprise, but Bambi was not having it.

“Asshole!” I heard her shout as she tried to recollect herself, drifting into the street to try and get a look at the man that had knicked her, but he had already melded into the group of other panicked people rushing past. My stomach began to dance like I had just unleashed a nest of wasps inside of it, like something very bad was on its way and we needed to join them. “What’s going on…?” she asked, but there was no time to answer.

I saw it before she did, a giant piece of debris flying straight where she stood and I ran forward.

“Get out of the way!” I shouted, her eyes wide with confusion.

I yanked her back against the sidewalk and we listened in stunned horror as it scraped against the ground where she had just stood with a terrible screech and slowed to a stop. Once the fear of almost having a decapitated best friend wore off my eyes adjusted to the scrap, a disfigured car door that had been ripped off its hinges as tossed aside now lost amongst the frantic legs that passed.

Bambi’s eyes made her look like a deer in headlights before she turned to me in horror and gripped my hand that was visibly shaking.

“You saved me…”

“I…I...”

I tried to answer, but a low menacing roar rang through the air that made my voice catch in my throat. Every inch of my body told me to run the other way, to find safety and wait this sudden disaster out while the real heroes came to save the day. But somewhere deep down told me they were never coming, and my curiosity was too strong not to see who, or _what_ was causing all of this chaos.

So I started forward.

“Wait up!” Bambi called as she joined my side, hand glued to mine as we rushed against the current of panicked civilians. Together we stood at the corner of a nearby building while the screams around us continued. Ahead of us smoke blocked any sign of what was happening, like a final warning to leave while we still could.

Then, like a veil lifting, I saw it.

A hulking black silhouette getting up, the same hulking black mass I had seen in the blurred news photos earlier this morning. Renato’s worried speech rang through my head as if pleading me to turn back, but my feet stood rooted to the spot.

The one time I didn’t listen to him and now we were in the thick of it. 

“That’s him, that’s the villain!” Bambi whispered in horror or disbelief I couldn’t tell, but we watched as it released another bone-chilling roar and she looked around in worry. “Where the hell are the Avengers?”

 _I don’t know,_ I wanted to answer. They were international now, hell it wasn’t too long ago that they had fought off _aliens_ from our planet. Brooklynn was now small time for them, and it was more apparent than ever in this moment. 

But as I began to give in to my worry a flicker of red caught my attention, as if sensing my doubt. My jaw went slack with awe as we watched the smoke settle just in time for the mystery assailant to lay a devastating blow against the monstrous figure's chest that sent him staggering back. 

“I don’t believe it…” I whispered as we watched him do a superhero landing, you know the one, masked appearance revealing who I had never expected to see saving the day.

“Oh my god, is that Captain America…?” Bambi whispered back in disbelief and, despite the circumstances, I whipped my head to look at her in disappointment.

“Are you _kidding_ me right now? That’s Spider-Man!”

“What? They both wear blue and red, give me a break!”

“ _WHAT?_ Captain America wears almost all blue and white and uses a red shie-You know _what,_ I'm not doing this right now." I announced, having to stop myself from going on what was probably the nerdiest tangent I would ever have in my life if I had continued.

I knew superheroes like she knew famous politician drama. The drama on Spiderman was that while he had once been your friendly neighborhood vigilante, no one had seen nor heard from him in _months_. Tabloids had suspected maybe he had finally bit the big one. Others assumed maybe he finally just craved a proper getaway after being worked to the bone saving people all day. 

To see him now felt like I was watching a unicorn fight crime.

Bambi had already clocked out as soon as I had opened my mouth but now stared intensely forward, reaching for my face to direct me to join what she was watching.

“I definitely know who _THAT_ is,” she grinned as my sights settled amidst the debris.

"No freakin' way."

There picking a wedgie out of his ass as if he wasn’t about to square up to something three times his size stood Deadpool, ex-Xman trainee disaster himself. I blinked in surprise, unsure if I was seeing this scene correctly. I knew next to nothing about him, only the recent chaos he had caused and that he, and I quote, ‘Was right all along and everyone could blow me!’.

He was a real character if nothing else.

I felt like I was dreaming. This team-up was as uncanny as it was to even see them in the first place, and we had just gotten a front-row seat to them saving the day.

That was until the creature caught Deadpools leg and sent him colliding straight into Spiderman like he was the last bowling pin in the lane.

Bambi and I winced.

Then we both said something very unexpected.

“You have to help them!”

“I should help them,”

“Wait, _what_?” we said in unison as the words processed fully. I couldn’t believe I had said that. I couldn’t believe _SHE_ had said that.

“What in the world makes you think I can do anything to help them?” I asked, still in disbelief at my own words while watching her begin rummaging through her bag with a newfound purpose.

“Are you _kidding_ me? I’ve seen what you can do, and this is what you wanted right? Look at them,” she added, another wince leaving us as Deadpool was tossed into the air like a ragdoll. “They can use all the help they can get.”

She wasn’t wrong. They were fighting a losing battle, and even though I hadn’t done this myself in a long while I knew deep down what the right choice to make was.

Deep down I still wanted to save the day.

“...Alright.” I agreed softly as I dropped my bag to the ground, a determination in me that had not been there moments before. I slipped my gloves off before plunging into the contents of my bag only to retrieve a bundle of rolled-up sheets. Various drawings and schematics of weapons I had worked on in my spare time, all drawn in ink, all ready to be summoned at the drop of a hat. Bambi watched in stunned silence as I began to hastily inspect some of the more dangerous looking drawings.

“Hello? You just walk around with these willy nilly??”

“Not exactly…” I admitted sheepishly before choosing a particularly feisty looking sledgehammer and sprawling the paper down across the concrete. While I usually kept these for a rainy day, I had wanted to test them with Renato to see how they faired, and see how I faired attempting something this big. There was no time like the present to test that theory out yourself though. And that’s exactly what I did as I rubbed my hands together and slapped them down on the sheet. 

My nerves were on edge. It was risky to do such a thing out here while so many people were running about but Bam was quick to create a shotty blockade so onlookers couldn't see. The more concentration I put into essentially becoming a 3D printer for this weapon the quicker my body realized this was playing a dangerous game. My hands shook with anxiety and felt like pin and needles were pricking my fingertips as I struggled to work my magic. Desperate times called for desperate measures though, and the sounds of the two superheroes continuing to get pummeled in the background were enough to push me through the pain.

I watched with growing anticipation as the inky black sludge that pooled from the paper and my hands merged to form a solid black sledgehammer. It was weighty, reeked of ink and had a good swing to it, but would it be enough?

There was no time to make sure. I stood and smeared my hand across my eyes for a very hasty attempt to save my identity with an even messier attempt to tie my hair back. In the time that it had taken to do this Bambi had successfully retrieved a camera that I was sure was more than both my kidneys combined and beamed at me.

“I just want you to know you look super badass right now,”

“O-oh. Thanks…” I smiled bashfully, feeling my cheeks grow warm. That feeling soon died down as a deafening crash sounded off nearby, my innards squirming with fear as another violent roar echoed into the air. Bambi's hand squeezed my shoulder as if to snap me from my fear.

“Relax. You’re Nina Fucking Knight, you can do this.”

“I can do this,” I whispered in confidence. I didn’t believe myself, but I believed in Bambi and her belief in me, and at that moment that was all I needed to step forward. One encouraging slap to my ass later I was stumbling, trying not to trip over myself as I got closer to the carnage that lurked ahead.

My heart began pounding like a drum. The dizziness from the sudden use of my powers was quickly catching up to me before I could properly shake it off, and I kicked myself for not putting that into consideration before diving in. It was too late to focus on that now though. My attention snapped forward and the creature towered above me as it admired its prize that was a battered and bruised Spiderman, now trapped within its grasp and unable to fight back.

I had to act fast.

“H-hey! Ivan Ooze!”

The words left me before I knew what I was saying and I readied myself as it began to turn, not giving myself time to realize this was an extremely bad idea before swinging my entire body into the hit in an attempt to stun him. I felt the contact, and for a moment I was excited, but instead of sending him falling over himself like I had hoped I listened to what can only be described as the most horrifying noise you could ever hear in a situation like this.

My sledgehammer shattered.

I stood in stunned horror looking at the shards of broken ink below me as the monster turned and faced me, completely unaffected by my embarrassing blow. The first thing I saw were teeth. Long, sharp jagged teeth that ran up into a gnarled grin as it looked down at me with white, milky eyes.

“Here's the thing, I’d like to apologize,” was all I could muster before watching Spiderman get flung onto the concrete like a broken toy. I spun around to make my quick exit, realizing in that moment that this was quite possibly the worst mistake I had ever made. In the distance, I saw Bambi’s horrified gaze as I struggled to walk quickly towards her in an attempt to flee, only to feel a large clawed hand wrap around me and yank me back.

“ ** _Where do you think you’re going?_ ** ” it asked, voice deep with malice as a long tongue slid out from between its teeth. I grimaced as it ran along my face, the hot sticky sensation leaving a chill of fear running down my spine as a deep chuckle emerged from its throat at my disgust. " ** _Two meals for the price of one, today must be our lucky day._ ** "

From below I heard a groan of pain and we both looked to find Spiderman struggling to stand. There was fury in his eyes and my heart jolted with hope as he looked ready to continue fighting the good fight.

“Leave her alone. Your fight is with me,” he called, but my hope soon died as I watched him stagger and fall once more. I began to struggle like my life depended on it. Hell, at this point my life _DID_ depend on it. The monster's grip only grew tighter at my efforts until I felt the stabbing pain of its claws begin to sink into my skin and I winced.

“ ** _What? No witty banter for your last moments? Pity._ ** ” it asked as its face grew close to mine. All I could do was close my eyes and pretend I was somewhere else. Somewhere where I wasn’t about to be mincemeat to Flubber’s roided up cousin.

“Yeesh. Can you believe this guy? I asked for tall, dark and handsome, I'm gonna give you a guess on what they missed.” a new voice called out now. I opened one eye to find Deadpool a few feet away standing on top of a car with a gun at the ready to the creature who growled in response.

“ **You again?** **_Don’t you ever die?!_ ** ”

“You know I ask myself that every day? Hey there, thanks for that distraction, by the way. The name’s Deadpool, and you are?” he asked me now with his hand outstretched to me, completely ignoring the easily 7 ft villain that looked ready to tear him in two.

The question caught me off guard and I answered as well as one would in that situation. 

“I’m Nina, I-I’m a big fan!”

Smooth.

“Well Nina,” he started while retracting his hand to instead point a girthy looking gun to the angered creature, “This has been a real treat, and I appreciate you saving my man over there, but I think it’s my turn to save the day if I wanna get that victory kiss.”

“By all means,” I winced as its grip against me grew tighter, the feeling of claw cutting through my skin beginning to intensify. Only the mention of ‘my man’ and ‘victory kiss’ had caught me off guard, and I shot him a look of confusion at his words only to be met with horror. While Deadpool had been ready to fire point-blank at it, he realized all too soon at that moment that he had no ammo and looked frantically from his gun to us in confusion.

“Well that’s not great,” he muttered before it released a furious roar. My heart gave a jolt of fear, convinced that this would be my final moment and I began to struggle with a newfound determination. It was then that I realized I had still been white-knuckling the remnants of my sledgehammer this entire time and I twisted my arm painfully out of its current position to free it. I closed my eyes, knowing I only had a few seconds to focus on sharpening the broken pole to drive it deep into its hand in one last hail mary.

And boy did I deliver.

The noise it made was deafening, but the sensation of being flung into the windshield of a car was even worse as I felt the impact hit my back with brute force. I could do nothing but groan in pain and hold my head as the world spun around me, like getting a look into a cartoon character's life when they got a mallet to the face.

“Nina! Nina, oh my god,” Bambi's voice filled the air and I rolled haphazardly off the car to try and find her voice. I jolted in fear as I felt hands wrap around my arm, but the soft reassuring touch told me it was her and I sank against her weakly.

“Hey there! You’re a gentleman and a scholar for your efforts, now let me handle the rest!” Deadpool called as my vision began to stop spinning, leaving my head pounding instead. We watched as he somehow had hitched a ride on the back of this monster via katana to the shoulder blade and now flailed on it’s back like a cowboy at a rodeo. "Y'know I have to ask, WHERE IS THE HULK IN THIS SITUATION? CAN'T SPARE AN AVENGER FOR THIS?" he yelled while he desperately held on for dear life, though we were unsure who he was directing his words at this point.  
  
“That’s what I said!” Bambi called, but the way he snapped his attention back to us seemed a clear indication that he was not speaking to us at all.

"As much as I enjoy your enthusiasm I feel like you should be running!" he called back to us, but we were rooted to the spot in fear at the chain of events that had begun in that same moment.

It all happened so quickly, and yet it still felt like an eternity to watch it play out.

All it had taken was a slip of his foot and he was in its range of the creatures reach, who now took the chance to grab his leg and yank him violently forward.

“ ** _We won’t let you run again,_ ** ” I heard it growl menacingly before gripping Deadpools upper and lower halves and pulling hard. My eyes grew wide with terror as I heard his bones pop and watched skin tear from muscle before he began wailing a series of ‘ows’ that grew more frantic with each passing second.

And then like that he was suddenly in two pieces.

Bambi emitted a shriek of terror as his blood hit us, yanking my frozen figure back as I tried to process what had just happened.

But I knew all too well what had happened.

I had just watched Deadpool die and I had done nothing to stop it.

I had failed as a hero when he needed me most.


	4. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina realizes how reckless this decision was and has a few strange encounters in the process.

We ran for what felt like hours but had only been mere minutes. **  
**

I thought we were done for, looking up at those terrifying teeth that sneered back at me between Deadpool's limp limbs, blood pooling around our feet. If it hadn't been for the sirens coming I think we probably would have been, but we had somehow managed to pry ourselves away when it turned and never looked back as we ran for our lives.

I wanted to vomit, in fact, I think I _did_ vomit at some point after realizing the blood got into my mouth and was all over my glasses.

The taste wouldn’t leave though. And the nauseating smell of copper hung around me like miasma as we tried to find our way back to the labs.

Inside my thoughts were a mess trying to recollect what happened. The terrifying image of Deadpool pulled apart, the look of pleasure on that monster's face as he did it. Bambi squeezed my hand, for her reassurance or mine I didn’t know, but it snapped me from my descent of reliving what had happened and back to our terrifying reality. Her big blues were now wide with terror, flecks of blood sprinkling her rosy cheeks and shirt amidst her sweat and tears.

This didn’t feel real.

This couldn’t be real.

We jumped at the sudden sound of our names being called, looking to see a worried-looking Barry hurrying towards us who we met halfway.

“Girls? Heaven's are you alright?” he tried asking as he gave us both a one over before directing us back to the labs. One foot in front of the other was all I could manage at this point, everything else led back to that moment that I was desperately trying to forget but couldn't seem to escape. “Professor Renato had me watching for you two since the news broke out. Can’t believe this happened so clo-Professor, they’re here!” he babbled on, only stopping as we shuffled through Renato’s lab's doors.

I had never seen so much stress painted onto his face as I did the moment he saw us. Once beautiful dark skin was now wrinkled with worry as he hurried towards us and immediately checked my face. I looked away in shame, already knowing what his sights had focused on.

“Thank the Gods you’re alright,” he uttered softly before directing us to some lab chairs and helping us sit. He disappeared briefly to murmur something to Barry in a hushed tone and I took the opportunity to hastily wipe my nose. I pulled my hand back to see a red so dark it almost appeared black and grimaced. “Girls, can one of you tell me what happened?” Renato asked carefully as he returned, a large medical kit in hand that he gripped tightly as if to calm his own nerves.

In asking that it was like the veil of composure had been lifted. Bambi and I looked at one another and released a deep breath, and like a dam breaking, we lost all composure and exploded.

"FUCK. _FUCK!_ That was seriously fucked up, we almost died!"

"Deadpool DID die! Oh my god...Deadpool _DIED_ , Nina!"

Bambi broke down sobbing while I covered my face with my hands and released a muffled cry of panic, a slurry of curses leaving my mouth before I could stop myself. 

"I can't fucking do this, I don't wanna be a hero anymore. I DON'T WANT TO GET RIPPED IN HALF!" I wailed while dragging my hands down my face. My life had almost ended in a matter of minutes and I didn’t know what to do with myself now. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the whole scene play out again and I felt my stomach clench with nausea. 

We jumped as Renato slammed the medical case down on the table beside us and pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly not used to all the noise we had created.

“Alright you two, take a few breaths,” he ordered calmly, kneeling down to inspect us both properly this time. “Bambi, can you tell me what happened?”

"Do I have to...?" she asked weakly, giving a shakey sigh in response as she saw he was in no joking mood.

She took a few deep breaths before going a mile a minute with what had just played out. I watched through teary eyes as he cleaned the scratches on her hands and knees, listening very carefully to what she said before turning to me and sighing.

“And you. You used your powers?” he asked softly, a tinge of disappointment in his voice as he inspected my face once more.

I nodded softly, unable to speak. 

My biggest tell that I had used my them was always a bloody nose. Doctors called it an unusual case of hypertension due to what my body had been through in my youth. I called it the god's way of keeping me from getting too cocky with my mutation. Either way, if I did so much as even think about getting overzealous with my powers now it was often too much of a strain on my system and that bloody nose was a warning not to push any further. It was why I had promised Renato that I wouldn’t do something like this to put myself in danger.

I wish I had listened.

He held my chin softly as he wiped away the blood and ink from my face. The realization of how stupid of a decision this had been was coming into sharper focus as I saw the worry in his dark eyes. 

And although I knew he wouldn't say it himself, Renato was thinking the same. 

“I-it was my fault,” Bambi tried to reason as if sensing the tension between us, but the damage had already been done.

“Continue the story,” he requested lightly as he continued to bandage me where he could, but she looked terrified. Her voice grew shakier the closer she grew to the end and the professor rested a hand on her knee in reassurance. The other took to gripping my hand that was now visibly shaking as she mentioned the creature in all its rage and terror.

"Nina managed to stab it and get herself free but...but...- _what the hell is THAT?_ " she interrupted herself as she looked over at me slowly and I froze, unsure of what she was talking about. 

She flew out of her chair moments later, practically climbing onto the table beside us to separate herself from me while screaming and pointing at my hoodie. An indescribable noise of panic rose in my throat as I looked down and saw a pile of black goop traveling quickly across the dark fabric. I screamed, trying to fling it off but failing, instead falling to the floor in a panic and attempting once more to reach for it. I succeeded, a shiver of disgust traveling down my spine at the cold, slimy texture it gave off before I flung it to the ground and scooted away desperately in the opposite direction.

“Calm down you two!” Renato hissed as he appeared with a clear container and top in hand, brows furrowed with concentration as he intercepted it’s sluggish attempt back to me. He brought the container down with such speed that I had to do a double-take, but it was there, struggling to escape its new plastic prison. I could only release a sigh of relief in response, dropping my head down on the cool tiled floor for the brief peace.

It had only taken a few moments before the remaining workers from other sections of the labs poked their heads in with curiosity and concern over our screaming. Renato, swift as ever, gave a simple curt nod to them and shrugged sheepishly. “Nothing to see here. Just a mouse,” he lied, a few chuckles emerging from his peers before they dispersed. I sat up and stared at my grimy hands and felt tears sting my eyes once more.

It was all beginning to be too much to handle.

Between the recent attack and that...whatever that _thing_ was I was headed for a meltdown and fast.

I excused myself to the restroom before Renato or Bambi could stop me, rushing down the hall past murmurs and snickers of what had just transpired. If only they had known what we had actually seen, maybe then they wouldn’t be laughing. 

Once I got into the small bathroom I locked the door and ripped my hoodie off, not wanting to get blindsided by something like that again. Looking in the mirror felt like I was looking at a different person. This was not the Nina filled with hope and optimism for a bright future filled with new beginnings that had been here not even an hour ago. This was the Nina that watched all of her hope get ripped in two by a giant monster and wanted nothing more than that boring life she had strived for.

This Nina had failed as a hero and never wanted to go down that route again.

I splashed my face with water to drive away onslaught of tears that began to bubble up and took to fiddling with my hair, now stiff with remnants of blood and sweat. It had engrossed me so much that I failed to see the janitor that I ran into as I was leaving and I gasped in surprise.

“I’m so sorry,” I started but paused as I saw his face. He looked _strange_. Not his appearance, perse. He looked normal enough, with pale skin and jet black hair that he had tied back and mostly hidden under a ball cap. It was his expression that seemed to catch me off guard.

His dark eyes seemed to study me with fascination and a smile slowly crept upon his lips as he looked at the dried blood that stained my hoodie and hands.

“Right in the thick of it, eh?” he asked just above a whisper, an edge of excitement in his tone.

I frowned and nodded, a feeling of unease spreading the longer I stood there. He looked ready to ask me more questions but I excused myself before he got the chance, diving my hands deep into the pocket of my hoodie before he could see them properly. I don’t know why he made me so uncomfortable, but something deep down told me to keep away and I wasn’t about to ignore that gut feeling any more than I already had.

When I arrived back in the lab Barry was on his way back out, a look of relief on his face as he saw me pass through the sliding doors.

“You gonna be alright, Ms. Knight?”

“Yeah...yeah, just still a little shaken up…” I admitted, feeling him give a reassuring squeeze to my arm before he departed. Inside the lab was quiet as Bambi and Renato had their sights focused on something in her hands. Our belongings were now miraculously sitting on one of the tables and the food lay open and waiting to be eaten. 

“How-”

“I asked Barry if he would retrieve them when you got here. Please, sit down and eat.” Renato offered, pulling out the chair I had been seated in earlier. I continued to stand stiffly at the doors while eyeing the room warily.

“Where’s that thing?”

“At my desk, don’t worry,” he reassured me as he directed my attention to the sealed container held down by a heavy book. “For precaution,” he added as he noticed my furrowed brows at how much the slimy black substance protested being in the container. Now convinced that things were as back to normal as they could be I took a cautious seat next to Bambi who looked fully immersed in her camera.

“What’s going on?” I asked, scooting closer to her to see what pictures she had taken. She toyed with the spoon in her mouth before sharing the camera screen with me. 

“Just trying to show the professor what that creeper looked like. Here,” she said, tapping the screen with a nicely manicured nail.

If I hadn’t been there in the action myself I’d have thought Bambi was smack dab in the thick of it with us. Her shots were incredible, consisting of close-ups of Spiderman and Deadpool in action. She had even managed to get one of me looking _almost_ cool. At least until I saw the shots of me attempting to run back to her with a face that looked like I had just kicked a bees nest.

“ _Bam!_ ”

“What! You gotta admit they’re a _little_ funny,” she tried to reason, but quickly moved to the next photos to prevent me from going off on her. I shrugged in annoyance and turned to my food, a yellow looking curry that smelled as hot as it tasted going down. It was welcomed, a sensation I could focus on instead of the dull pain that was quickly beginning to settle in as my adrenaline wore off.

I looked over to Renato who was now seated back at his desk, fully immersed in the impromptu battle station he had created that consisted of a spot for his food, his computer, and a fancy looking microscope I had not seen earlier.

“You’ll have to let me borrow that camera, Bambi,” Renato called as he zipped in his chair from one space to another. “I’d like to send some of the photos it holds to a colleague of mine.” 

She scoffed in response.

“As if. I’ll give you the _SD card_ with the photos on it, but I want them back, the Bugle's gonna pay crazy money for those shots!” she added as she stood to hand him the small device into his palm. One small nod later he was back to work as if we weren’t there and Bambi turned to me. There was concern scribbled on her face as she sat beside me and took my hand, once bright blue eyes now stormy and wide.

“Are you okay?”

I didn’t know how to answer. I wasn’t okay, I didn’t feel like I’d ever be okay after what we saw. But I couldn’t tell her that. Looking at her watching me it was easy to see she was ready to cry again if I answered anything remotely honest. I could only nod softly and turn away in response so she couldn’t see my face. We sat in a heavy silence after, focusing on our meals like they were the only things keeping us tethered to that moment and in some weird way, they were. 

“ _Incredible_ ,” Renato whispered sometime later, prying us back from our thoughts to look at his hunched over physique. Whatever was under his microscope had completely engrossed him and now left us looking at him with curious stares.

“Something you’d like to share with the class, Renato?” I asked.

“Just...this thing...this creature. Its DNA is _fascinating_. And somehow very much alive despite being separated from its host for so long.”

“ _Alive_?”

“Seems that way. Take a look,” he whispered as if not wanting to startle it but beckoned me forward. I hesitated but obliged, looking into the microscope and gasping at what I saw. Whatever this thing was it’s DNA was lively, moving erratically like it was restless and searching for something or someone to attach itself to.

I shivered and pulled back, leaning against his desk as I processed things.

"This feels like some kind of strange nightmare..." I confessed quietly, watching him turn away as he began to clack away at his keyboard with newfound excitement. He stopped abruptly and faced me after hearing my words, chin resting on slender hands as he considered what to say next.

"I won’t lie. What you did was extremely dangerous and quite frankly a bit stupid." he started, and I frowned. There it was. The line that I had been hoping so badly to avoid.

"Right. I’m sorr-"

"You didn't let me finish," he interrupted, sighing warily. "It was stupid, but you did what you thought was right, and no one can ever fault you for that. And Deadpool? The man’s an idiot, leave it to him to get himself killed with a stunt like this."

I blinked in confusion.

"Did you _know_ Deadpool?"

"I know lots of people, Nina. What I'm trying to say is...don't blame yourself for something that was already written in the cards. Hell, give it some time, you might even see him walking around next week." he added with a casual shrug before returning to his typing, as if what he said didn’t just tear open a whole new set of questions. 

My confusion only deepened in response. _Was he on drugs?_

"You _did_ hear the part where I said he got ripped in _half_ , right?" Bambi asked point-blank, her expression matching mine. 

"I've seen heroes reappear from worse scenarios, if you would call him that, to begin with," he added sourly before Bambi and I shared a look with one another. Renato had a fascinating habit of keeping his private life well... _private_. Before I could even open my mouth to ask the question that we were both desperate to get an answer to he turned to me and shook his head. “No, I will not tell you which superheroes I’ve worked with or what happened to them.”

“Oh come _on!_ ” I protested as he stood from his chair, ignoring me to saunter over to the bag where our food once lay. He picked up the smaller decorated bag Mr. Basil had gifted us earlier and held it out in my direction.

“Up for feeding Levi tonight?” Renato asked suddenly as if to steer me away from my curious questions and anxieties. 

I blinked in surprise. The only thing Renato valued more than cleanliness and science was that cuttlefish, the cuttlefish that I had only ever watched _him_ feed from afar because he didn’t trust others to do it.

I sure as hell wasn’t going to pass up this chance.

“S-sure!” I said, now hurrying like an excited child to take the bag from his hand before he could rethink his offer. His tank sat in the corner near Renato’s desk so that he could always keep an eye on him while he worked. Today was no different as I realized it had been here all along, I just hadn’t noticed it with all the chaos going on. I kneeled down to examine the brightly lit tank, being met with various colorful corals and rocks before seeing a small crustacean drift out from a small cave amidst the rocks. It must have known it was feeding time, or maybe it just wanted to greet me, because it very casually floated to the front of the glass where I pressed my face with joy. It was a small, plump little creature that’s little maroon body swayed to and fro with the water as it inspected me.

Renato clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Face _off_ the glass, you’ll smudge it.” he frowned while grabbing for his trusty cleaning cloth for such an occasion and I scowled.

“YoU’lL sMuDgE iT,” I mocked before opening the small bag, being greeted with fresh shrimp that squirmed to life as I grabbed one and hastily tossed it into the tank. Leviathan usually was quick to zip through the water to catch its prey, but today he waited patiently for it to fall before consuming it whole. 

I frowned. “What’s wrong little guy? Not hungry today?”

"He's just...getting up in age now. After all, they only live to be about 2 years old."

“They _what_?” I asked incredulously. He narrowed his eye at me skeptically in response.

"Did you listen at all when I explained very thoroughly the lifespan of a cuttlefish?"

“Uhm, yeah! Of course I did,” 

I did not. In fact, if I'm being honest I'm pretty sure I had Death was suddenly everywhere and it had rattled me to my core. Renato must have noticed this because he went back to pinching the bridge of his nose in silent frustration and sighing.

“This is exactly why I wasn’t going to bring it up,”

“So what, you were going to just have him die one day and then tell me?”

“It's not like that-”

“Looks like you really don’t have a leg to stand on for this one, Professor,” Bambi called as I shoved the bag into his hands and started past him to gather my things. I knew he hadn’t meant it intentionally, and I knew that me being a hothead and storming off was the least mature thing I could be doing right now. But after what had happened earlier and my adrenaline from earlier all but burned out I suddenly wanted to leave before any other bad news came my way. Bam followed suit and began collecting her things as well. Renato watched us with concern slowly etching onto his face before he began digging around his lab coats pockets for what I assumed were keys that now jingled as he held them in the air.

“Hold on, let me drive you two home.”

“We’ll be fine,” I muttered, trying to head towards the door as quickly as I could.

He grabbed my shoulder gently to try and hold me back.

“Nina please, it’s not safe out-”

“Lay off!” I shouted, shaken by my own words. Even he looked startled and quickly removed his hand from me with an apologetic look. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just...been a long day and I just want to go home. We’ll be safe, I promise.” I added, shoving my hands deep into my hoodie as he could only offer a reluctant nod in response.

He looked like he wanted to comfort me, do _something_ to make this situation better. Instead, he uttered a faint ‘Be careful, and text me when you get home!’ as we left. The halls were now silent as everyone else had left for home, my thoughts wandering back to the janitor that had acted so strange earlier and I shivered. I had never seen him before, which wasn’t unusual in this building, but that smile…

I shook my suspicions away as we ran into Barry once more at the exit. He offered to walk us to my Vespa but I politely declined as it was right outside, wishing him a good night before we hurriedly parted ways. 

Bambi and I stood in a heavy silence shortly after as I handed her my helmet for the ride home. Instead, I felt her hands wrap around my waist and hug me tight. She was shaking.

“Nina, I am so, _so_ sorry...If it hadn’t been for what I said-”

“Bam stop,” I interrupted gently, feeling her head press into my back. “Don't forget that I wanted to do it too, and if I hadn’t it might have been both of them instead of just…” I trailed, unable to finish my sentence. I didn’t even know if Spiderman was still alive, we hadn’t bothered checking the news while in the lab. For all I knew he was…

“I can’t do this again…” I whispered, her grasp around me growing a little tighter at my words.

“ _Please_ don’t do this again. The thought of losing you…” she admitted, her voice becoming thick as the words left her mouth. We stood in silence like this for a few moments before recollecting ourselves and heading home. The trip back was a little longer than I expected, forced to take detours due to the rampage from earlier that destroyed the usual route home. My stomach did somersaults as we briefly passed a section that, despite the darkness, had deep stains of blood settled into the pavement that made me sick from the memory it brought. Bambi’s grip around my waist grew tighter as we passed it and I knew she had seen as well. I grimaced, the faint hope that this was all in my head crushed at the sight.

By the time we got back to the dorms it was a ghost town. Usually, by now there was at least the random group of students heading off to the bars or room parties. Hell, I would have even settled for seeing a student rushing by stocked to the brim with art supplies to get work done in one of the studios.

Tonight there was nothing.

"Must have been an early curfew since it was so close to the school..." Bambi whispered as if reading my thoughts. We both pulled our phones out to find a series of text messages and missed calls, but one, in particular, we had both missed. In bold flashing red letters was a caution with the following text beneath like the random Amber Alerts we got in the middle of the night:

> **!EMERGENCY!**
> 
> **Early curfew is now in effect.**
> 
> **Due to the recent attack of a criminal still on the loose, curfew now begins at 9 PM.**
> 
> **Updates will be released when more information is provided.**
> 
> **Do NOT go out alone until further notice.**

“Criminal is still on the loose...?” Bambi whispered in horror, a jolt of ice-cold fear stabbing my stomach as I read over the words. We shared a look of unease before rushing into the dorms, like everything would be alright once we were back home. Anything to escape the oncoming realization that my fears of Spiderman’s demise were quickly becoming a reality. Or that if the criminal was still loose it could very well have been looking for the idiot that had tried to take it on and managed to escape.

Again I ask, _what was I thinking_?

We crashed into our dorm to find a tall, lanky woman pacing before us in the entrance. Her blue eyes widened in relief at the sight of our out of breath forms and she pulled us both into a tight hug. 

“Thank the god,” she said just above a whisper. Above me, Benni Banks’ worried gaze looked down at Bambi and I who had been smooshed against her chest like the worried mother hen that she was. Her once perfectly parted black and yellow hair now sat in a mess as if she had been constantly running her hands through it and her once pale face now red with stress. 

Behind her on my bed sat Ava who started toward us in large, quick strides, a flurry of Spanish curses trailing behind her.

“You fucking moron, what were you thinking!” she asked angrily, cupping my face in her hands as she inspected me. Her eyes were puffy and tan face flushed as if she had been crying heavily. Another feeling of intense guilt struck me at the sight of the two, realizing just how stupid I had been to put not just myself in this situation, but also my friends. I looked away in shame as she wrapped me in a tight embrace, a small sob escaping her in the process. I wrapped my arms around her gently and frowned.

“I’m so sorry…” I managed to whisper before finding my own tears begin to spill, my composure gone once more. Being confronted with those who had spent the recent hours worrying was bringing it into sharper focus, and I felt terrible for it. What would they have told my friends if that creature had succeeded in eating me? My parents? I shook my head to dismiss the thought before it swallowed me up again and released myself from Ava’s hold, desperate to take a shower. Desperate to escape from this awful experience.

I didn’t want to think anymore.

I just wanted this nightmare to be over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading so far! If you're enjoying it so far lemme know! ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿


	5. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina struggles with the events of the night prior while being faced with a startling new issue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a forewarning there are a few french and Spanish terms in here that I tossed around, I'll be posting the translations at the end of the chapter so y'all know what is being said!
> 
> As always I hope you enjoy, if you like where the story is going please drop ya boi a kudos or a comment to let me know!  
> Happy reading! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

I dreamt of blood.

Of tendons snapping and muscle being torn in two.

Heard the inescapable screams of terror in a void of nightmares that had me tossing and turning all night.

Then I saw them again. Those milky white eyes that narrowed as they set their sights on me, soon replaced by a gaping maw full of jagged teeth that were ready to tear into my skin like it was paper.

Then, with a small terrified gasp, I woke up.

 _It was just a nightmare._ This is what I had to tell myself as I stared at the ceiling and tried to calm my racing thoughts. My heart continued to hammer in my chest as I tried to recollect myself and my clothes were damp with sweat from the troubled sleep. But the longer I laid there the more aware I became of my surroundings. A soft melody weaved in and out of my hearing and the hues of blue and purple of our hanging lights danced in my blurred vision. It was noticing this that I was finally able to release a sigh of relief as I was able to remind myself of two important things:

I was home. And I was _safe_. 

Beside me, the bed creaked and I turned my head to find Ava sitting cross-legged by my curtained window, hand over her mouth in serious concentration as she stared at her laptop screen. I made the effort to sit up and felt my entire body seize up with pain. I took a sharp breath at the sensation spreading through me and heard a soft chuckle ring through the air.

“Ah, she awakens,” her husky morning voice announced beside me as a groan of pain escaped my throat. I struggled to make the minimal effort to turn to her, only to be met with her hand that held my glasses and a bottle of pain killers that she now rattled at my sore expression.

“Eat up, Princesa. You’re gonna need these for the day ahead,”

“You’re a lifesaver,” I murmured as I accepted and downed them graciously. They could have been horse tranquilizers and I wouldn’t have cared, the pain that my body felt as I sat up had me almost wishing I was still facing those nightmares. Just the brief thought of reliving them made my stomach churn though, and I quickly tried to ignore it and press through the pain instead. 

I slumped over on Ava’s shoulder and sighed, another small chuckle escaping her as she carefully moved a piece of hair away from my face.

“Surprised you’re even awake right now, you outdrank all of us,” she teased as I held my head, now fully feeling the effects of my terribly thought out decisions last night. _That was right_ , we had drunk last night to calm our nerves. Despite being desperate to escape the conversation we spent almost all night talking about it. Ava and Benni assured me the news hadn’t caught wind of my participation that they were aware of, only that there had been no bodies at the scene of the crime. 

That alone left me both relieved and terrified for Spiderman and whatever remains were of Deadpool.

If there were any at all.

I shook my head sluggishly to rid myself of the thought before looking to Bambi and Benni who were haphazardly sprawled along Bam’s bed, still very much unconscious.

“Why are you awake?” I asked Ava groggily, taking every motion delicately as the room continued to spin. 

She raised a brow at me and smirked.

“You think a little booze is going to cause me to break schedule? Pfft, I’m Latina, bebita. But also,” she added, pointing to the floor and frowning, “You _really_ need to answer that thing. It’s been going off since 7.”

I went to ask her what she meant but then I heard it. The low rumble of my phone vibrating against the carpet. At that moment my hangover was completely disregarded and pain tossed aside as I slid to the ground and fished for it desperately. Ava watched me, perched from above with curiosity now wrinkling her brows as I found the source to the buzzing and curled into a ball to suppress the unpleasant discomfort to follow. 

All I could muster was a soft ‘oh no’ when I saw what was waiting on the lock screen. 

Ava inched closer to me to try and sneak a peek as I continued to stare, not daring to unlock it to see what fresh hell was waiting for me inside.

"What's going on?" she asked softly.

A soft 'oh' left her lips as I showed her. A handful of messages and mixed calls littered the screen, the fear you only felt when you missed 10 calls from your mother when you were a teen hitting my core as I swiped it open.

Only this fear was brought by missing the calls of my mother, father, AND Renato.

I swallowed hard and scanned the messages. All worried, all sent at various times during the night and this morning:

‘ _Honey, we just saw the news. Are you alright?’  
_ _‘You’re not picking up. Did something happen?’  
_ _‘We’re very worried. Pls respond!’_ \- **Mom**

 _*‘Mon chéri? Nous sommes inquiets pour vous’  
_ _‘Appelez s'il vous plaît’_ \- **Dad**

 _‘Are you home? - **R** ’  
_ _‘Nina? - **R** ’   
__‘Look. I know you’re still recovering from last night but something has happened. Come to the lab ASAP. - **R** ’  
_ _‘Again, it’s URGENT. - **R** ’  
_ _‘Also, call your parents. -_ **R** ’ - **Renato**

My gut twisted further with guilt as I read the growing list of texts from them all, but the last few from Renato worried me the most. It was sent almost half an hour ago and my imagination was going in every direction it could with what could have happened.

He rarely sent texts out to people, even when it was an emergency. What if something happened to him? What if that thing came back for it’s missing piece? What if it pulled an Alien and created a Chest Burster inside of him?? 

I had to go and see what was going on. 

I uncurled myself from my position before releasing a groan of pain, moving from one awkward position to another as I attempted to summon the strength to get up.

It didn't work.

Lying half off the bed beside me Bambi began to stir.

“Nina? What’s going on?” she yawned, rubbing her eyes as she unshifted from her own awkward position to sit up and watch my staggered efforts. Benni gave a soft snore next to her but remained still. I was fully convinced that we could have dropped a bomb on the city and she’d have stayed asleep during it. Hell, she managed to sleep off the Hulk rampaging through the city once before, how should this be any different?

“I have to go to the Professor’s office. Something's wrong,” I winced, finally finding my footing and attempting to poorly stretch to try and subdue the pain. While it didn't do much to help with it, it did help me understand where the source was. I tenderly touched my side only to recoil back as the shock of pain it sent. It was almost exactly where I had landed after the creature had flung me, bringing a series of uncomfortable pictures to my head before I could shake them away.

“ _What?!_ ” Both Ava and Bambi asked in unison at my announcement, watching me shuffle awkwardly to my wardrobe that had seen better days. Bambi was now wide awake at this point and stood to meet me, a heavy frown set on her once pouty lips.

“Please tell me you’re not going back, especially after last night-”

“Last night is just as much my issue as it is Renato’s, Bam. Who knows, maybe he just found out something interesting about that gunk,” I tried to reassure both her and myself as I began to rummage through my mess of clothes. We were assigned two wardrobe closets to a dorm at the beginning of the year and expected to fit all of our belongings inside. While Bambi had somehow made hers always look presentable mine was everything but, and I now struggled as I attempted to rip a cute yellow hoodie with ‘Good Vibes’ written in a cute font across the front out of its clutches for the day ahead.

I succeeded, only to fall back and have a mess of clothes topple onto me in the aftermath. Both Ava and Bambi shared a look of worry before Bambi knelt down to help me.

“I just...think it’s kind of bullshit he’s calling you in after everything. Especially with _that_ ,” she added as she pointed to my midriff, shirt now raised some to reveal the nasty looking bruise that had formed overnight. Underneath lurked a nastier looking scar from past events that I quickly hid and looked away from, suddenly very aware of my flaws.

“Bambi, * _déjalo!_ ”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine,” I managed quickly, not wanting to mention it any more than it already had been. Like a monkey's paw suddenly sensing my wish to change the subject we all turned to my phone that had begun to vibrate again. Ava, the closest to it, studied the notification before her hazel eyes grew wide. “What is it?” I asked hesitantly as she stood and quickly closed the distance between us, holding my phone at arm's length like it was a ticking time bomb.

When I saw who was calling it might as well have been.

It was my father.

“Oh no, no. Can't you just like...I don’t know, tell him I’m sleeping??” I asked desperately, a snort erupting from her as she held it closer, holding me captive against the wall now.

“You really think I’m gonna pull off lying to your dad? Get real,” she hissed back while swiping over the green telephone emote to accept the call. I pursed my lips angrily in response, knowing she had me at a stalemate before I accepted the phone in defeat. "Ante up, bebita, you're on." she mouthed quietly as she and Bambi stood nearby quietly to listen. Even Benni's once peaceful snores were gone from the room as I prepared to completely BS my way through this conversation.

“Bonjour Papa!” I chimed into the receiver, knowing full well the I had just stepped into the lion’s den and had to be very careful about what was said. My father was as smart as he was strong, and the man had won a plethora of heavyweight titles before he stepped down as a reigning champ. I had to be smart about where the conversation would go.

“Nina,” he started, dad tone already in full swing behind his heavy french accent. “We’ve been trying to get ahold of you all morning, *est-ce que tu vas bien? We saw the news and-”

“Oh right, the news.” I interrupted, clicking my tongue with thought as Bambi and Ava watched with wide eyes. I ignored them as I continued to search for the rest of my outfit in the mess I had created. “Wild stuff, right?”

“You didn’t get involved, did you?” he asked point-blank, my insides squirming as I pretended to scoff at his words.

“Me? Get involved? C’mon dad, *Avoir une certaine foi!” I grunted while struggling into a pair of leggings. He grunted back in response.

“I just worry, mon petite. Because reports say that a small mystery hero came in at the last second,”

“You don’t say,” I asked softly, hoodie stopped half over my body at these words. I wanted to curse. Sure, the news hadn't been able to record anything of my failed attempt at heroism, but I hadn't even thought about bystanders that might have seen.

“Oui, and she seemed to be wielding a hammer. A big _black_ hammer that fell apart right after using it,” he pressed, my nerves getting the best of me as I scrambled to find proper words to say. “You sure you weren’t there?”

“Of course not." I started, tugging at my hair nervously as I began to feel myself ramble. "I-I was studying with the girls during the lock-in! Do you know how many superheroes are in New York? In Brooklynn for that matter? Do you really think I’d be dumb enough to take on that thing? Hah! _Hah!_ You’re so funny, papa. Oh? What’s that? My phone is dying and I need to leave? What a very strange set of coincidences happening here!” I laughed a little too loud into the phone, hobbling in nervous circles in the room as Ava and Bambi watched with embarrassed stares.

“Nina-”

“I really gotta go. For the record, I did nothing wrong, ever!” I answered hastily before hanging up, pulling my hood over my face to hide from the heavy looks the girls were giving me. “Please, no commentary.”

“Smooth,” Ava whispered dryly as I shrugged and tossed my hands up in the air, immediately racked with another bout of pain. I struggled to shrug it off, instead focusing my attention on gathering my belongings to leave for the day. As I went to grab my bag I stopped, sheets of my old weapon schematics poking through that brought me back to the day before. I shook my head of the invasive thoughts wanting to pry through and removed them, knowing I had no business trying to use any of them anymore. I was done with trying to play hero.

Behind me, Bambi took a seat on my bed and tugged at her sleeves nervously.

“You’re really not going to tell them?” she asked softly. The question made me stop abruptly and turn to her, disbelief in my eyes. 

“Do you want to explain to them how they almost lost their only child while she was out making bad choices?” I shot back quickly. I knew she meant well, and I knew that this would most likely end up biting me in the ass at a later time. But I also had to keep this a secret from them until it was all figured out, there'd be no point otherwise.

Especially if it meant putting them in danger.

“That’s...fair,” she agreed quietly after a moment of silence, Ava joining her side on my bed as they watched me scramble to shove my clothes back in my wardrobe. “Do...you want some company with Renato?” she offered, but I could see the fear in her eyes of having to face that moment again. Of having to go back to the labs and seeing what could possibly be another nightmare waiting for us. She had suffered just as much as I did and I didn't want to force her through it again if she wasn't ready.

Instead, I shook my head and feigned a smile.

“It’s fine, I’m going to Renato’s and then straight to Drawing 2 after. I’ll pick up your SD card for you while I’m there though, yeah?”

She looked relieved at this and nodded. “You’re a lifesaver, Neeners.”

“I know it,” I teased before grabbing my helmet and sauntering out of the door. Before I could leave fully my phone went off. Inside a simple text from Benni reading ‘ _Be careful!_ ’, but when I looked to the bed she was still as motionless as ever and dead to the world.

_How did she do that?_

“Aye, keep us posted!” Ava shouted through the door as I left, a soft sigh escaping my lips as I headed outside. Truth be told it was a bit of a relief to be away from them. All the worried looks, the fear we had all felt hanging like a cloud in the room. I needed to get away from it all, to escape briefly so I could think.

Outside storm clouds loomed above, threatening to release hell down on the city at any moment. I hurried to Queenie and took off before I was the unlucky duckling to have to experience it and, to my surprise, the street that had once looked like a warzone the night before was now pristine as ever. Even the dark stain I had been haunted by on the way home was nothing more than normal black asphalt now. As much as people complained about where our tax dollars were going I had to give it to the city restoration committee for always being on point. They made it look like nothing had ever happened and, for a brief moment, I believed that.

Before I could enjoy the momentary peace of mind I was given I was already at work. My hands gripped my key card tight as I hurried to the door, trying to brace myself for whatever might be waiting for me inside. Instead, the door swung open as I went to swipe and Barry stared at me, eyes wide as he met my surprised face.

“Miss Knight? What in the world are you doing here?” 

“I wish I knew. The professor called me in,” I explained shortly before scooting past him to sail down the stairs. I stopped abruptly at the last step, hearing the harsh tone of Renato’s ring through the air. I had never heard him so angry, not even when I once accidentally almost broke Levi's aquarium by playing with one of my ink balls in the lab.

Another voice, a strangely familiar voice this time, now spoke in a deep yet desperate tone.

“Darwin _please_ , we may have had our differences before but this...this could very well save lives!”

“I’m not going to tell you again. This is a dangerous subject and it has no place in the medical field. Leave the premises or I _will_ be calling the police. And don’t you ever, _ever_ use that name again.” he growled. My surprise and curiosity were through the roof at this point. Who could strike so much anger in such a simple man that would lead him to talk like this?

I had to know.

“Knock, knock.” I chimed softly through the sliding doors, as if I hadn't just been eavesdropping just moments earlier. My eyes immediately fell on the stranger causing the ruckus and I couldn’t help but manage a small gasp at who I saw. It was the janitor from last night, the man that had sent chills down my spine with just a simple question. “A-am I interrupting something?” I stammered, trying to keep my composure as his gaunt appearance glared at me before looking back to Renato.

“I was just leaving. I hope you sleep well at night knowing you work for a monster,”

“Well, I’m in college, so your first mistake was thinking I sleep at all,” I responded a little too sarcastically, a small grim chuckle leaving the man’s throat as he knocked shoulders with me on his way out. His demeanor had changed completely from the man I had seen just moments ago, once slumped shoulders now broad, all frailty from him diminished as he turned to face Renato once more with a dark stare.

“It was nice seeing you again after all these years, Professor. Remember, I did try to play nice with you,” he called before exiting the lab, leaving a heavy silence in his wake. I blinked in surprise, unsure if I had just been tricked into seeing two different people or if that man was just that quick to change his personality. 

I turned to Renato, whose brows were furrowed and was staring angrily at nothing in particular before I attempted to break the ice.

“So, who’s your friend?” I asked carefully, watching his eyes flicker up to me and narrow at the assumption.

“Never friends. We were hardly even colleagues,” he muttered as he began pacing, running his hands through his once neatly ponytailed dreads. They now fell over his face and shoulders as he stood hunched over his desk, fuming. “I knew something was off about that man, why didn’t I see it sooner?” he whispered to himself, fully immersed in the conversation in his head.

“Uh, what?”

“How could I have so foolish? Of course, I was being watched...how could I have known he would go to this level though? Stupid..."

"Renato?"

"If he gets his hands on this...dammit!” he hissed before slamming his fist on the desk angrily. I flinched at the action before snapping my fingers at him.

“Hey! Earth to Renato, bring it back down to Earth!” I called, watching him snap from whatever stupor he had previously been in. Looking up close at him now he looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept at all. Under his lab coat, I saw now that he was wearing the same clothes he had worn when I left last night and it finally clicked. “ _Did you stay here all night?_ ”

“I...well, yes,” he admitted sheepishly before he took to rubbing his chin, looking at nothing in particular like he was deep in thought once more. We stood in silence for a few moments before I touched his shoulder, confusion rapidly growing in my head that I was desperate to seek answers to.

“Hey, are you going to explain what’s going on or…?”

He seemed to slip back into the moment and sighed, pulling off his glasses to clean them anxiously. “Right. Sorry. I was hoping to give you a day to rest but...something happened.”

“So you said in the text. What is it?” I asked hesitantly, fear creeping into my voice before I could stop it. It was a relief to see that he was still here and intact, no xenomorphs popping from his chest, but his change in demeanor was somehow _more_ concerning than anything my imagination cooked up. He gave a large sigh before pressing his palms together and directing them at me with somber eyes.

“You have to promise that you’ll let me explain before you get upset,” he started, looking down at me with a gaze that turned serious within a few seconds. My stomach gave a quick twist of fear at this. It was suddenly very apparent that whatever that substance he had been studying was no longer within sight, which made my thoughts run wild once more with worry.

“What did you _do_ , Renato?” I asked gravely, watching him hesitate before starting towards the fish tank. My gaze hardened as I noticed it was now covered with a dark sheet, a sheet that he now removed to reveal a lazily wandering Leviathan in the water. I released a sigh of relief, a piece of me fearing the worst for the little crustacean. 

That was before it turned its sights on me.

It was like I had been tossed into a sci-fi horror flick. Its skin went from its usual beautiful maroon to a horrific pitch black, it’s size growing into something grotesque before he began to slam against the glass. Renato steadied the tank before tossing the sheet over it once more and it's furious attempts to leave grew silent. I stood in terrified silence trying to process what I just saw, hands quivering at my sides as Renato turned back to me and managed a weak unsure shrug.

“What in the everloving fuck was that?” I finally managed to whisper as he started back towards me, hands shoved deep in his soaked lab coat as he seemed to ponder what to say to me. I took a step back from him, my gut suddenly unsure of how I felt about being around him. His gaze looked hurt at this but he kept his distance as if nervous I would run if he got too close. He wouldn't have been wrong to think that. Even now as I waited for him to speak I readied myself to make an escape if I needed despite him making no effort to move.

“I suppose I deserve that…” he whispered before I scoffed, tossing my arms up in the air with a sarcastic laugh.

“You _suppose_? That guy was right, you're a damn monster!"

“Nina please, your language-”

“Do _not_ start with me over that,” I snapped, folding my arms, ready to hear what excuse he had ready for what I had just seen. "Explain. What the fuck happened when I left?”

He sighed and nodded softly, giving up on arguing.

“Right. So, you left, and I had been engrossed in researching this creature. It’s quite a find, Nina, it’s DNA is _incredible_. So incredible in fact that I found it had regenerating cells and I…” he trailed, taking his glasses to fiddle with them as he spoke. “I saw a window for experimentation and I took it.”

“On Levi? But _why_? You know what that thing can do, we told you!” I protested, his features dark with thought.

“I know, trust me, I know. I thought...maybe a smaller dose wouldn’t have the effects of its original host, that maybe it could fiddle around with it and reverse Levi's health,” he admitted, a look of weariness taking over him. “It _did_ do that but it also turned him into what you just witnessed.”

“And how does your _friend_ tie into this?” I asked grimly, nodding towards the door. He scowled at my use of friend but sighed wearily.

“As I said, he’s an old colleague...from a different time. Back...when I still worked for the government,” he explained quietly. 

I blinked in shock, taken aback by the confession.

“You did _what_ for the _who_ now?”

“I was a scientist for a special research program briefly after college with the close colleague of mine I've mentioned, along with the man you saw earlier. He went by Oliver Phobus, though judging by his new appearance I’m not sure if he still goes by that name…” he trailed as if thinking hard into the past.

"What the fuck...," was all I could muster. I couldn't believe he wasn't sharing this information with me. I could barely get him to reveal what his favorite juice was on store runs half the time much less get a look into his past like this. I decided to press my luck and prod further.

"Why is that?"

“Oliver was, well, is a desperate man. His forte used to be researching uncommon diseases for potential cures, often taking devious measures to get to his answers if it meant a breakthrough.”

“Such as?” I asked, curiosity growing by the second. He pursed his lips before continuing, a look of discomfort falling over him as if not wanting to answer.

“He did many experiments on...people...terrible things,” he whispered, my mouth suddenly growing dry at his words. His gaze grew dark at the mention of it, like he was reliving the experience as he spoke. “As soon as we found out we made sure he was removed from the program, but soon after he and his family left without a trace on where to find him. And then today…” he sighed, fist resting on his chin as he recounted what happened. “Today I was trying to take a sample from Levi and he came in and saw. He saw what Leviathan had become and I know he’s going to come back for him.”

“You really think he’s going to come back? You told him you were going to call the cops!” I reasoned, a grim chuckle erupting from him as he started towards his desk and began fidgeting with various things in what looked like a frazzled attempt to organize. He turned back to look at me through the rims of his glasses and frowned.

“You greatly underestimate the level of desperation he’s at,” he answered shortly before hunching over his laptop, body stiff as he began to clack away at the keyboard. I shifted nervously, still trying to process all the new information given to me. Renato called him a desperate man but hadn’t he just committed his own messed up experiment in the name of science? On the other hand, to hear that his man, Phobus, experimented on people left a bitter taste in my mouth. That strange smile he presented to me the night before now seemed all the more devious and caused a shiver to run down my spine at the thought of it. Renato at least seemed ashamed of what he did.

Phobus just seemed like a mad man on a mission.

“So...what will you do now?” I asked softly, my gaze traveling back to the tank that stood silent now despite the uproar that had just happened. Water soaked the floor around it, a warning of what would happen if we tried to look at Levi again. Just remembering the glimpse of black tendrils slithering out and the sheer anger it seemed to have when it saw me...it made me not even want to be in the room.

Renato sighed as he turned back to me and folded his arms.

“This is where it gets tricky,” he began, frown settled deeply on his lips at what he was about to say. “My work, Levi specifically, can’t stay here any longer. I’ll be alerting the proper authorities of what’s transpired but I need to get him somewhere safe before I do so. Can't exactly have them seeing what he's become without it turning into a stickier situation than it already is,"

“Fair enough,”

“What I need from you is just to stay here and keep guard while I travel home to get the proper equipment to take him to my colleague's residency. There we can do some proper testing, maybe see if we can reverse this-”

“Hold on. You want me to do _what?_ ” I asked incredulously. Above us, a warning of thunder rolled past, a feeling of unease taking hold of my gut at his request. Here he was, dropping a complete bombshell on me and expected me to just roll with it like it was no big deal? I shook my head and held my hands up in disagreement. “Professor…”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t desperate, Nina. You're one of the only people I can trust with this,” he admitted, placing a hand on my shoulder with a look of sheer exhaustion. “I know you’re unhappy with me right now, I'm unhappy with me too. I know I made a bad decision, but I can’t let him have this. He’s a dangerous man and I don’t know what he’ll do with the information or what could happen if-,”

“If he gets ahold of this, right,” I sighed, not wanting him to finish the terrifying thought that Levi could very well transform into something even more terrifying if given the chance. Or even something worse happening if someone was able to manipulate that DNA. Inside every fiber of my being protested this request, but deep down I also knew all too well that sometimes you had to make the hard decisions that you really didn’t want to. I just wished it wasn’t me having to make it in this scenario, especially after the first time had already gone so wrong.

Renato was desperate by his standards though, and he had stuck his neck out for me so many times in the past year that I lost count. It was only fair I repay him for it. 

I just hoped it wouldn't bite me in the ass later.

“Alright, I will watch Levi until you can make it back. I have a class soon but I can skip if you need me to-”

“Not necessary. I’m already in enough hot water, I don’t need your parents blaming me for you missing class,” he joked softly before his demeanor changed. “You _did_ talk to them last night, didn't you?”

“Define talk and last night,” I smiled sheepishly before laughing nervously at his sour appearance. “Relax, we spoke briefly this morning. They know nothing so I’d like to keep it that way,” I admitted before glancing at the clock and frowning. “Shoot. I’ve gotta head out but I’ll be back at around 6, is that too late?”

“6 is perfect. I’ll have everything ready for when you return so we can make this quick and painless,” he added before pausing and looking at me with a soft frown. “Are you sure you’re up for this? You can say no, especially after everything that’s happened last night.”

“I’ve already made my decision, haven’t I? What’s the worst that can happen anyway? It’s just some science creep that probably won’t even show up tonight, right?” I joked, trying to hide my own fear by making light of the situation. Renato gave me a weary smile before heading to his desk to get to work, brows creased with uncertainty at my words.

“I suppose you’re right, I'm probably just being too careful about this. Just...be ready, we’ll discuss more when you return,” he concluded, setting us on our separate ways until the big night ahead.

Despite him trying to be reassuring about it a part of me knew that it wasn't going to be that easy.

Things were never that easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little notes from the story:
> 
> Texts from Nina's dad: 'Mon chéri? Nous sommes inquiets pour vous' - Honey? We are worried about you  
> 'Appelez s'il vous plaît’ - Please call
> 
> Ava translation: "Bambi, déjalo!" - "Bambi, leave it!"
> 
> Nina's dad: '...est-ce que tu vas bien?' - 'Are you fine?'
> 
> Nina: 'Avoir une certaine foi' - 'Have some faith'
> 
> And I think that's about it! If you have any other questions please let me know! :)


	6. Defeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina stands watch while the Professor retrieves the needed materials for Levi's transport.  
> A series of terrifying events transpire!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Death and blood are involved in this chapter, just so y'all know!  
> Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

_Just be ready._

Those words hung in my head all day, invading my thoughts like a swarm of angry bees that refused to let up. I sat in class staring blankly ahead, the professor's words going in one ear and out the other as he attempted to teach, but the class was alive with whispers of what happened last night.

“I heard it had, like, 3 rows of teeth,” a girl nearby whispered. Her friend gave a small gasp in response. 

“I heard it got ahold of someone and pulled them apart like a mozzarella stick-” another voice, male this time, murmured with amusement into the sea of whispers. A noise of disgust followed with the sound of someone slapping his arm in response.

“Augh, don’t be gross!”

I grimaced and tried to focus on my drawing again, feeling my discomfort return as I saw the piece I had been absentmindedly working on throughout the period. It was of the creature from last night, eyes narrow with excitement and mouth set in that terrifying toothy grin it had revealed before-

A loud snap erupted in the room and I looked down to find my pencil now broken in two. My hands, hidden once more by their gloves, were now shaking and my breath labored as I emerged from my trance. Looking back up I saw that half the class was staring at me now, surprise etched on some faces, disgruntled looks on others as I had interrupted their concentration. Ahead of me, the professor looked surprised, starting towards me with concern on his weary face. 

“Is something wrong, Miss Knight?”

“No, I-I... Sorry…,” I hesitated, taking to shoving my belongings in my bag and hightailing it out of the room before he could question me further. It wasn’t like I was going to miss anything that he had said anyway as class was almost over. Hearing all the rumors was just...getting to me. They hadn’t been there, it was only reasonable that this would have been the talk of the town today. But it also meant reliving it, something I wasn’t ready to reconnect with so soon.

Exiting the building I was greeted by the onslaught of rain the sky had been threatening to pour down all day. By the time I was halfway back to the labs I was soaked, my thoughts immediately turning to Queenie and how she was fairing in this weather. I picked up the pace, cursing as I realized in my hurry to class that I hadn’t had enough time to toss on the cover I had for this very occasion before leaving. Now I risked a wet butt for the journey home later tonight.

What was usually a 10-minute walk now felt like ages as I watched the clouds grow darker and more ominous overhead. But something also felt off, _strange_ , as I trekked across campus to get back to the safety of my work. It felt like someone was watching me, a feeling that only intensified as I dared to turn around only to be met with fellow peers hurrying to get out of the rain. I risked standing still to search who, or what, could have been stalking me in this weather but found nothing but droplet covered glasses in return. Now even more on edge, I hurried for the familiarity of the office building, fishing frantically for my keycard.

Suddenly the door swung open with Barry beckoning me in on the other side. Seeing his short, stout figure again after so many hours had me flabbergasted, yet relieved.

“You’re still here?” I blurted in surprise, a deep chuckle erupting from him at my question. 

“Ah yeah, and it’s a good thing too because I managed to save ol’ Queenie there before it got too bad. Hope you didn’t mind me poking around,” he added sheepishly as I turned and looked outside. Now behind the safety of the door, I saw that Queen had been covered to avoid the rain and I turned back to him with a relieved smile.

“How could I mind when you did me a huge solid?” 

“Aww, it was nothin’, it’s been slow today due to the storm. Renato asked if I could stay a few extra hours today, and you know I can’t say no to him after all he’s done for me,” he admitted as we took to the stairs to meet him.

It was then that I remembered the strange relationship they shared that was similar to mine and many others. Barry’s wife was also a mutant. He didn’t voice this often. Not because he wanted her to be kept a secret - he was anything but quiet when expressing his admiration for his wife - but because it was hard to trust people with something like that. Hell, he still didn’t know that I was one. To him, I was still just Renato’s trusty courier who only found out about his wife after a surprise delivery to his home. I’d say it made us closer but Barry was just a friendly old man to begin with, so much so that he was an employee favorite here in the building.

He now looked at me with his big bushy brows and frowned. “Are you alright, Miss Knight? You know, from last night...” he asked gently as we headed down the stairs side by side. I was so caught up in the moment prior that for a second I had forgotten the worries of last night. Seeing him watch me with worry etched into his features now I shrugged and offered a weak smile.

“I’m about as alright as I can be currently,”

“Sometimes that’s all we can manage, and that’s okay,” he reassured me as we stepped into Renato’s lab. I went to nod in agreement but was cut short as I saw the condition of the room, now barren of any proof that he had ever worked here. All that remained was Leviathan’s ominous tank in the corner of the room and a box of what looked like science knick-knacks that sat at his desk that lacked even his trusty computer.

“What the hell…?” I whispered in awe as we wandered farther into the room. It had been clean before, but now it was _pristine_. Beside me, Barry seemed just as surprised.

“Professor said he’d be taking a bit of a break from here but I didn’t think it’d be like this,” he whistled, his attention turning to the tank that he now eyed with curiosity. “I do wonder how he’ll be handling this though...”

“Hey Barry, don’t I wouldn't-”

“Yes Barry, I wouldn’t advise it,” Renato’s voice rang in the air, both of our startled appearances turning to find his lanky frame juggling an umbrella and drinks in one hand while the other held a bag from the coffee shop across the street. I hurried over to help him from painting his lab coat with what smelled strongly of coffee and he gave a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Figured you hadn’t eaten yet. And a coffee for you,” he murmured softly as he removed a styrofoam cup from its holder to present to Barry who accepted graciously.

“Trying to win us over with food,” I teased as he rummaged through the bag to present a fancy salmon bagel in my direction. As many questions as I had for him, I couldn’t deny the fact that I hadn’t eaten since last night, my stomach protesting in agony in case I had forgotten. My joking facade changed as I noticed his hand now shaking and I frowned up at him. “Have you slept at all since we last spoke?”

“Haven’t had the time, I wanted to be sure I was ready when you arrived…,” he admitted softly before attempting to stifle a yawn.

I scowled at this. “Listen, man, as much as I’d love for you to return as soon as possible, I think it’s safe to say you’re in need of a nap before coming back,” 

“I’m inclined to agree with Miss Knight,” Barry joined in, bushy mustache twitching as he took a sip of his coffee. “No offense, Hughes, but you look like hell,” he admitted while shuffling past him and giving him a gruff pat on the shoulder. “Give me a holler when you’re about to leave, I’ve gotta make rounds. ‘Preciate the coffee!”

I watched with an amused smile as he stumbled forward, clearly too tired to brace himself for the gesture before he scowled to no one in particular. Whether it was because Barry had used his first name or that he had to accept how tired he was I didn’t know. What I did know was that he now knew we were right, he just didn’t want to admit it. 

Hearing his name mentioned caught my attention as well, especially when that man, Phobus, had called him something else earlier. They hadn’t matched.

Something was off about it.

“So _Hughes_ , huh? I feel like I need to put this under the ‘Things I’m Not Supposed to Know’ files.” I joked carefully, watching him saunter towards his last box before halting and turning to me. Despite looking exhausted he was suddenly on guard.

“I trust you to keep that to yourself,”

“I mean obviously, though I guess I have to ask: Why are you so secretive about it? And that name that the creep used, Darw-”

“ _Don’t_ ,” he interrupted in a stern tone before I could even get it out. I looked at him in surprise, taken aback at how quick he was to dismiss the name before and how rapidly the atmosphere of the room had changed. 

Seeing my face he sighed and removed his glasses. “That’s a name I don’t use anymore and I would prefer not to speak of it,” 

“Ah. Noted. Sorry,” I apologized quickly, watching his demeanor change from uncomfortable back to weary at my words. As much as I wanted to leave it alone it only seemed to raise more questions in me. Why did the name bring him so much grief? And why did this man Phobus go to such trivial lengths to get back to him? None of it was making sense.

I jumped as Renato’s hand squeezed my shoulder and brought me back. He was now staring down at me with red, exhausted eyes before cracking a faint smile.

“I know it’s a lot to ask of you, especially considering the circumstances, but do you think you can wait a little longer to hear my story?”

“This better be one hell of a good background story if I’ve got to babysit that thing from some edgelord science freak coming to take Levi,” I smirked while nodding towards the tank. The fear from earlier began to creep back slowly even mentioning it because I knew what lurked inside. Renato looked at the tank and sighed heavily in response. As much as I had reamed him for what he had done he seemed to be his own worst enemy from his earlier actions.

“It’s one for the books,” he responded softly before he began to gather his remaining things. He hung by Levi’s tank with a solemn look on his face before turning to me and studying me intensely.

“Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? Barry is more than capable of keeping an eye out,” he offered once more. A rumble of thunder rolled above us and I shrugged my shoulders, pointing to the ceiling.

“One, if anything is going to keep freakazoid away it’s going to be the storm. Two, I think Levi is more of a threat than him this point, but my point still stands. Go do what you need to do, we’ll hold down the fort here and for the love of God take a nap! Can’t have you blasting through the building because you decided to sleep at the wheel…,” I teased, playfully easing him to the door before he dug his heels against the tile to stop only to release a sigh of annoyance.

“Hold on, Nina. There’s something about him you need to know. Phobus isn’t a man to be listened to or have your guard down around, not even for a second-”

“Alright, alright. You _done_ yet?” I asked, rather crossed now. I knew he was trying to prepare me for the worst but I don’t think he realized the fear he was building in his desperate attempts to warn me. He rolled his eyes and nodded reluctantly, shifting with his box as he inched slowly out of the sliding doors.

“Fine. I’ll be back as soon as possible and then it’s straight to Xavier's School-”

“Hang on,” I stopped him, tugging him back by his lab coat to playback what he had just said. “Charles Xavier?”

“Yes,”

“And you’re going to his School for Higher Learning?”

“Yes, Nina. Is there something wrong with that?” he asked, confusion melding into his tone. My stomach gave a jolt of excitement at the confirmation. If he was going maybe I could-

I shook the thought away.

“No, nothing. I just didn’t know you knew him like that...,” I answered quickly before he could suspect the actual reasoning behind my sudden interrogation. He frowned at this and seemed to drift off into thought.

“I swear I told you that was where my colleague resided. His lab is miles ahead of mine so it’s only logical to go there to get answers,” he added with a hint of envy before shaking his head and backing out of the room once more. “Regardless, I’ll be able to discuss more once he’s in safer care. Remember, _don’t_ uncover him unless it’s necessary and keep your phone handy-”

“I got it, don't feed the gremlin after midnight, don't collect $200, yadda yadda. Would you just get outta here?" I called, already making myself a spot at one of the tables as I peeled off my gloves and hoodie to dry, donning a damp black tank top underneath. He gave one last look at my bruised figure, a hint of worry etched on his face at the sight before heading down the hall to make his leave. Now that I was alone I was able to decompress, feeling every ache in my body announce itself once more as the savior that had been Ava's pills were wearing off and released a miserable groan. I hadn't wanted Phobus to make his comeback before but now I definitely didn't want him to, it was hard enough just managing existing at this point.

I took to setting up my phone to play some music while I unpacked my belongings, determined to keep my mind off of the lurking sensation of fear that grew in the corner that was Levi’s tank. _It was fine_ , I reassured myself. _Everything was going to be fine_. Barry was here in case anything happened, my phone was charged and I had things to keep me busy. All I had to do was hunker down for the night and await Renato’s valiant return.

That had been almost 5 hours ago.

I now stood in the middle of the room holding a golf ball size ball of ink running it around my palm as Bambi made a noise of disgust over the speaker.

“Seriously? Pulled apart like a mozzarella stick? Ugh,” she groaned as I recounted what happened earlier in the day. I had only lasted an hour by myself before boredom took over and I called Bambi for a mental reinforcement. Since then we had managed to talk about everything and nothing. Pulling apart the ball like slime I smiled at the sudden silence.

“You’re thinking about mozzarella sticks now, aren’t you?” I asked.

There was a moment of silence before she begrudgingly whispered ‘Yes,’ and I snickered. This was why we were best friends. She was always able to turn a bad moment good, and that’s what I needed most right now.

“Now hold on,” she started, her tone turning serious suddenly. “Renato told you he was going to Xavier’s mansion and you didn’t offer to go with him??” she asked earnestly as I rolled the ink sludge back into a ball and chucked it at the nearby wall. I winced at the pain it brought, fully expecting it to come bouncing back for me to catch, hoping somehow the hammer breaking had just been a fluke. Instead, it shattered against it like glass and I cursed under my breath.

“Uh, _yeah_. What was I going to say? ‘Hey I have the hots for a professor there and I would like to tag along for some extracurricular activities’?”

“That’s _exactly_ what you say! He owes you after this, especially after hearing about that guy. What was his name again?”

“Phobus. And...you’re not wrong, I guess...,” I agreed begrudgingly as I pressed my hand against the floor where the shattered pieces lied to summon the ink back, risking one more attempt to work on my control. As much as I was now uncomfortable with the idea of doing any more superhero shenanigans the fact that my weapon had broken so easily rubbed me wrong. It meant I was getting weaker, and that was something I couldn’t afford to happen. “I just think it’s bad timing is all,”

A soft impatient sigh came from Bambi as I began to roll up another ball.

“Time isn’t real, Neeners, just ask half the villains that try and take over this stupid city. That said, can you please go ask this man out so I can hear the deets on what he’s packing?” She asked as I reared my arm back and gave a hefty swing forward. The question took me so off guard that I only had a moment to ask ‘ _What_?’ before feeling the ball smack into the side of my head.

Well, the bright side was that my powers weren’t weakening. The not so bright side was that it hurt like hell to find out. I heard the lab's doors slide open and Barry’s hurried footsteps amidst Bam’s laughter. His worried voice followed.

“Knight? You alright?? What in the world happened?”

“Didn’t expect that to bounce back so hard…” I admitted embarrassingly as I straightened myself. The ball was nowhere to be found now and Barry took my arm delicately to sit me down in a nearby chair to fix myself. I tried to smile and ignore Bambi’s snickering in the background but inside I wanted to die from embarrassment. I caught him looking at the bruising from last night and attempted to shrug it off, shifting his attention elsewhere. “So what’s up? Any update from Renato?”

“‘Fraid not. It’s just gettin’ a bit late and it’s raining cats and dogs out there. Thought maybe he had given you an update so I came down to ask. Glad I did,” he chuckled softly while checking his watch, his brows narrowing at the time. I looked at my screen to find it was now nearing almost 11. Everyone else had been well gone by now to try and beat the thick of the storm. We watched as the overhead lights flickered as they had been since the storm worsened halfway into the night and I shook my head, the uncertainty creeping on me again. Before I could sink any deeper into my paranoia he took one of my hands, brows raised high as he inspected my fingertips and I froze. “What’s going on with your hands? Are you alright?”

“Ahh, charcoal project, that’s all!” I answered quickly, motioning to my supplies that lay scattered across the table. He seemed hesitant to believe me at first, as there was no charcoal drawing to back up my reasoning, but eventually gave up on whatever hypotheticals he had and nodded. 

“You kids and your projects. I better not see any of that on the wall,” he scolded playfully, using his best dad tone before looking hesitant. “You _sure_ he hasn’t said anything?”

I shook my head in response.

“Nothing. I’m sure he’ll be back soon though, maybe he just forgot to set an alarm while he was napping or something,” I tried to reassure him, nudging him playfully. He only shrugged in return.

“Been there, I sure hope that's the case, I was just hoping to see Jodie before she headed to bed. Ah well, holler if you need me, alright? I’m gonna do one more sweep around the building,” he smiled as he headed for the doors. I nodded and waved, a sigh of relief leaving me as he departed once more. As soon as he was out of sight I scrambled to toss my hoodie back on, grimacing at the slight dampness to it but relieved that I could once again hide my hands and marks from the previous night.

“That was close…” I whispered as I took to the floor to search for the magical ball that had succeeded in not smashing on impact. Bam seemed less than enthused at the conversation that had taken place.

“He’s not back yet? Isn’t that a little worrisome?”

“Like everything, except for science, Renato is really bad about contact. I’m sure he just forgot to tell us he was on the way back,” I reasoned, trying to keep my own morbid theories at bay. 

She did not seem so convinced. “And you’re _sure_ you don’t want us to come? I mean Ava’s out...doing Ava things and Benni is doing...questionable Benni things on her computer but I’m _totally_ ready, just as soon as I get this face mask off...and put on some clothes…”

“Bam I’m fine, really,” I laughed, a noise of victory escaping me as my sights settled on the black ball lurking by Renato’s desk. “I’ve got Mitski playing, Barry’s been checking on me all night and Levi hasn’t made a peep since...well, earlier. It’s fine!”

“I still can’t believe that,” she admitted, hearing her shift in her bed. “That guy sounds like a psycho but Renato doing that…”

“I know, I know. I’m still reeling over it too but I mean...it’s done, right? I’d rather not have this dork get his hands on Levi if he’s that crazy,”

“But what are you going to do, Nina?” Bambi asked suddenly, the tone in her voice direct and serious. “He saw what happened yesterday, what if he actually comes? He knows you can’t defend yourself-”

“He’s not coming so can you just chill out?” I snapped a little too abruptly, crossing my arms at the uncertainty of my own words. I knew it had been too harsh, but the sudden memory of that twisted smile made a chill run down my spine. I didn’t want to think about the what-if’s, what would happen if he did come because she was right. 

I wasn’t prepared. 

“Listen, I’m sorry but I’m already a little shaken up and this isn’t helping…” I began, but found myself jumping in fear as a crack of thunder shook the glass and the room went black. The few seconds in the dark were sheer terror as I scrambled to find my phone. Moments later a red emergency light flickered on over the door and I inhaled sharply. “I hate you, Bambi. I really hate you.”

“What? What happened?? If you’re going to hate anyone hate that guy Thor-”

“No...we lost power,” I whispered, fumbling for my phone's flashlight. The red light from above casting ominous red shadows over everything was not helping me keep calm. The shadows _moving_ in the corner of my eyes were no better as I felt the room grow heavy with my fear and the sensation of being watched. 

From up above I heard Barry’s muffled voice call down. “You alright, Nina?”

“I-I’m fine! Is everything okay?” I called back up. Soon I saw the light of his flashlight bounce against the stairs, a feeling of brief relief washing over as he poked his head from around the corner. He had his flashlight in one hand and nightstick in the other held at the ready. If we hadn’t been in such a frightening situation I would have laughed at how ready he was to take on anything that dared cross his path.

“Probably just a blown generator. Not surprised with this weather,” he assured me, but the sudden heavy booms against the entrance door had us both eyeing one another with uncertainty.

“You don’t think…?” I began to ask, a look of suspicion on Barry’s face as he seemed to debate going to the door.

“Could be the Professor. As far as I know, key cards won’t work while we’re running on a battery, conserving power or some mumbo jumbo,” he explained gruffly as if trying to convince himself we had nothing to worry about. He held a hand out to me to wait as I tailed behind him, unsure of what to do. “You hang on down here just in case.”

“But-”

“I’m sure it’s nothing, power outage just has us spooked,” he chuckled cautiously before I watched his hefty timid frame head up the stairs. I clutched my phone with growing unease as I waited for a sign that things were alright. Somewhere deep down though I knew that this was wrong. Something terrible was going to happen.

“You still there, Bam?” I asked quietly. Her breath was sharp as she exhaled.

“I’m here, what’s up?”

“Someone is at the door, Barry’s checking now-”

“Oh _hell_ no, Nina. This is a horror film in the making, get out of there while you still can!” she protested, panic rising in her voice. Above there were muffled voices speaking but no matter how hard I tried to listen I couldn’t make out what they were saying. My screen suddenly lit up as another call came in and my heart leaped in my throat.

It was Renato.

“Bam I have to go,” I whispered softly before she could protest, switching over to the next line hastily where Renato was already talking a mile a minute.

“Nina, you have to go now,” he ordered, his voice cold and filled with an emotion I had never heard from him before: **Fear**. “Find whatever you can to put Levi in and get out of there. He’s coming and I won’t make it in ti-” he started but was drowned out by the sound of muffled shouting above followed by a loud crash. My hands began to shake as the thuds of bodies wrestling against the ground grew with an intensity before the unmistakable sound of a gunshot rang through the air. There was a brief horrifying silence followed by the guttural noises of someone struggling to catch their breath.

Then Barry's voice wailed into the air.

“Nina...Nina, go! Run!” I heard his pained cry beg before a groan of agony echoed through the air. The room was suddenly spinning as I tried to regain control over my thoughts. Was Barry dead? Was this mystery assailant Phobus coming here to get what he wanted? Should I go check on Barry? No! Stupid! He was just telling me to run away. What do I do?!

“Nina!” Renato’s voice shouted from the phone, snapping me back into reality and I held it up to my ear shakily.

“Professor, I think Barry is dead…,” my voice quivered, unable to keep it steady as I heard the slow muffled noises above of someone regaining their footing. He only cursed in response, as if coming to terms that this situation had gone completely out of control.

It was then that I realized I only had a matter of seconds before the mystery assailant would be coming down to find me and that I had to act fast.

I searched for something, _anything,_ to use to scoop Levi in. “Couldn’t have spared a container during your big move…?” I tried to joke to keep the growing tears at bay, but inside all I wanted to do was shut down and cry.

"I'll add that to my list of things to remember for next time," he tried to humor me in response, but his voice revealed his worry. “I...I’m almost there. There’s an emergency exit near the back offices, do you remember where?”

“I think so…,”

“Good. Do you think you can make it there?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered frantically as the steps grew louder. My eyes scanned his desk desperately, trying to find anything to use before falling on an old coffee pot. Without thinking I dove for it, dropping my phone in the process before ripping off the dark sheet. The dim red light of the room made it almost impossible to see anything in the tank, but I knew the little crustacean's shape when I saw it as it turned on me and began to swell once more. “Please don’t do this, please…,” I begged softly, blood pounding in my ears as all I could focus on were those steps that neared the stairs at a frightening pace. I felt my nose begin to gush blood, watching it drip haphazardly into the water before I was finally able to scoop him into the pot and grimace at the feeling of its skin. It was slimy and cold, and I felt something wrap around my finger before I shot my hand back out in fear. 

There was no time to dwell on it though as a chuckle filled the hall.

My time was up.

“Don’t tell me he left his little pet to take care of his messes,” a voice that I now pieced together as Phobus’ echoed through the air. It was different than before, deeper, with a hint of excitement ringing through. “Like what I did with the place? A simple smash to the fuse box and no one’s the wiser during this.” he continued as another crack of thunder shook the glass. My only rational thought in this moment was to hide under the desk before he could make it into the room, no longer able to get my phone for help and out of time to escape. I listened as the door was slid open and he stepped through, a sigh of pity following. 

“Not talking now? That’s a shame. I had so many interesting things I wanted to share with you,” he called to me, feigning sadness as I listened to his steps grow closer and then pause. I swear, between the ferocity of my heart hammering against my chest and the absolute mess I was making from the water splashing against my hoodie he was going to find me. Instead, I listened as he picked my phone up, Renato’s voice still on the line before hearing it smash against the tile and I grimaced.

Seconds later I felt the desk screech and a whimper of fear escaped me before I could stop myself, a pleased chuckle erupting from above.

“Found you. Come out before I have to _force_ you out,” he ordered gently, though his tone told me he wasn’t going to ask again. My whole body went rigid with fear as I struggled to stand, sliding the coffee pot out of sight before I straightened myself and focused my gaze at the barrel of the handgun he held. “Was that so hard?” he asked softly, but I couldn’t control the panic inside, now forming into anger as I clenched my fists at my sides.

“What’s _wrong_ with you? Why are you doing this?” I spat, a harsh laugh emerging from him as he retracted the gun and began fiddling with it like he was looking for the right words to say to me. His hair fell over his face soaked from the rain and his lip was busted open, a mark I assumed from Barry before his final moments. The thought made me purse my lips and look away to keep him from seeing the tears welling up.

“Why do I do this…? An interesting question to ask. I could just say that I’m a man of science, a man ‘ _driven to the end of his rope_ ’ as everyone else says of me…,” he pondered loosely, rubbing the tip of his gun against his scalp as he thought.

“So all of this, these threats, the stalking, killing innocent people, it’s not because you’re searching for an answer?” I asked coldly, saying whatever I could to stall him for Renato to show with help in tow. At least that’s what I hoped as I watched him study me before rolling his eyes at my accusations.

“So he did tell you,” he murmured softly as he dared take a step closer to me. I took one back reflexively and he smirked, like he saw it as a game. “He told you I experimented on people too, right? I never, _ever_ touched a human being.” he went on, daring to take another step towards me while studying my shaking hands with a newfound curiosity.

"What else is there if not a human being?" I dared to ask, his eyes growing wide with excitement at my question. I flinched as I felt my back hit the back of the counter and he took another step to close the space between us. His grey eyes traveled down to my hands that gripped the counter in fear that if I let go I would collapse and brought his gaze back to mine and gave a small, chill-inducing smile in response.

"Mutants. I only ever experimented on mutants."

My voice caught in my throat at his words. A part of me was furious, no, _disgusted_ that he had the audacity to say such a thing and not get a piece of my mind in response. But the other part, the part driven by fear and rationality, knew that he was fucking deranged and that I couldn’t tempt fate. I had to remember Renato's warning and take everything he was saying with a grain of salt or I was going to find myself in Barry’s position. 

“Judging from the look on your face you either know one or...you _are_ one. Am I right?” he mused, stepping towards me once more in one fluid motion to close the gap. I was so startled at his movement that I couldn’t stop myself as I staggered sideways to keep away from him, felt my leg twist over the other before I hit the ground. Soon I was looking up at his sickeningly pleased face as he squatted down and grinned. “Not every day I get to meet one of your kind, had I the time and the resources I’d love to pick your brain. Unfortunately, I’m not after you today,” he whispered as he focused his attention under the desk where the coffee pot gave a sudden jolt. 

My panic rose.

“Wait, you can’t take that. You don’t know what it can do!” I protested as I attempted to reach for it, instead being greeted with the gun once more. I froze in place, unable to do anything from this position without potentially having my brains color the walls. 

“I know what it can do, I saw the look in your eyes yesterday and I knew. I saw what it did to that pet of Darwin's and I knew I had to have it,” he hissed before the door above burst open. Relief hit me like a freight train as I heard Renato’s voice echo from above, a deep grimace forming on Phobus’ face as he processed that he might not make it out like he had planned.

“Nina? Nina are you down there?” Renato’s voice, frantic as he charged down the stairs, called before he emerged through the lab's doors. He was drenched from the rain, his shoulders heaving as he took in the scene before him. His gaze fell on my fallen figure and started towards me, only to have another gunshot fire through the room as Phobus shot at the floor.

“Not another step, Darwin. I won’t let you foil my plans again,” he snapped as I readjusted myself to look at him. Whatever level of anger he had been at previously had flown out the window as he stood before us now. He looked at me and I flinched before his gaze loosened back to concern.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

“It’s okay. It’s just a nosebleed,” I tried to reassure him, ears ringing with a shrill scream from the gunshot, but he wasn’t having it. He looked absolutely furious and with good reason.

With the gun pointed at Renato now, I wondered what could be done. If Phobus saw me coming then I was as good as dead. If Renato came at him he was as good as dead.

We were at a stalemate.

“This has to stop, Oliver. Let go of this damned obsession you have with trying to save her while you still have time.” he seethed, hands shaking as he was forced to stand and watch at an impasse. Whatever sick joy Phobus was getting out of this entire thing suddenly left at the mention of _her_. Who was this mystery woman to instill such a look of pure pain in him that he took a step back to stare in bewilderment at just the mention of her?

Just as soon as the look came it had faded just as quickly and rage took place. I watched as he began to yell something at Renato and raised the gun to fire, and all instincts took over. I fished in the pocket of my hoodie for the ball I had been toying with earlier, using it to transform it into a thick shard that I haphazardly tossed at his trigger hand. He released a grunt of pain as it connected, the sound of the gun firing off seconds later and to my horror seeming to connect with Renato's shoulder. Phobus growled and hastily tried to switch hands to shoot and I scrambled up, attempting to summon another shard while knocking him into the counter to prevent him from attacking.

Only that's not what happened, because things weren't easy.

They were never that easy.

Though I landed a heavy impact on him he didn't release the gun.

Instead, he gripped me tightly and shook his head.

“You should have just let him take the shot,” he seethed before pulling the trigger of the gun pressed hard against my chest.

I had no time to run, to summon something that may have saved me from the inevitable. All I heard was the bang of the gun and something hit me, a searing red hot pain growing in my chest moments later. Phobus released me and I fell to my knees only able to look down at what he had done. The once happy-go-lucky saying across my chest was now blotted out as my blood began to dye the fabric. 

I heard Renato shout and his hands grip me as I began to fall over. He was shaking now, eyes wide with panic as he looked at my chest.

“No no no, Nina stay with me, okay? Breath, _please_ ,” he begged, his voice slowed as his hand gripped mine while the other attempted to stop the wound from continuing to bleed. I tried to gasp for breath but my lungs were on fire, it hurt too much to keep trying. My eyes scanned the room to see Phobus using the distraction to escape, anger replacing the void that fear had left.

“ _Go_ ,” I voiced with difficulty, staring at the door with a fury I did not realize I had. Maybe it was because I was dying, or because we were letting a Grade A asshole escape while I bled out, but I couldn’t live with the fact that he would get away with this. Not after everything I learned, and all that he had done. I looked at Renato and grimaced, nodding towards the door. “ _Get him_ ,”

“I can’t do that, if I do you’ll-”

“ _It’s all for nothing if he runs_ ,” I barked, the taste of iron hitting my tongue at my outburst. I was pushing myself too hard, the room blurring the longer I tried to stay awake. He stared at me long and hard before cursing and placing my hand over the wound. He promised to return and I listened as he booked it to catch up to Phobus until there was nothing but my struggling breaths left to fill the air.

I wish I could tell you I was at least proud of going out defending the city from whatever hell that man was planning to unleash if he had gotten ahold of Levi, but more than anything I felt regret. I hadn’t done anything heroic, I was being reckless and stupid just like the night before. 

And look where it got me.

Stuck dying in a lab with Ridley Scott’s wet dream of a creature only separated by some flimsy glass.

Glass that now shook and burst a few feet away and left me shutting my eyes tight as a strange unfamiliar noise greeted the air. It was wet, and whatever it was sounded large, getting louder as the distance was closed between us. Despite my heart trying to keep up with the fear growing within me I knew it wouldn’t last. My hand had already fallen to my side as I felt whatever terrifying force that used to be Levi creep up to me. My only hope now was that I died before whatever this thing was got to me first.

I opened my eyes, daring to take a look at the creature that was once Leviathan. Instead, I was greeted with pure darkness that seemed to consume any and every source of light the room once held. 

Then when it was done with the light it came for me, and I no longer saw anything.

It had gotten what it wanted.

It had gotten me.


	7. A Brief Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina awakens with many a question and a new frightening guest in her thoughts!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small warning of brief blood and needle mention, and then a french phrase at the end that means 'Stop talking!'.  
> Hope you enjoy! (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*

They say that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes.

This was, well, true. I only say this because I’d experienced it myself when I was 20. Every memory was like a picture and every picture felt like it lasted a lifetime.

It was hell.

After what had just transpired I fully expected to have the same result play like an old film projector burning through its last tape. 

Only that wasn't the case.

I no longer sat breathing my last breath in the back of Renato’s lab. Instead, I blinked and was now sitting amidst a flower patch in a valley of grass. In front of me stood a woman overlooking a sea of grass and flowers.

Her back was turned to me, covered by a cascade of flowing red hair that ran through her pale hands like water.

“ _Oh Tiger, this spot is wonderful,_ ” I heard her call to me happily, and I frowned.

 _‘I’m not Tiger’_ , I want to say, but I didn’t get the chance.

A flicker of static struck me and the world went black.

More voices now, striking through the darkness. They’re followed by laughter this time before the sound of glasses clinking together chimes into the air and I find myself releasing a content sigh. Only, the sigh isn’t mine, it’s that mans again, _Tiger_. We’re at a restaurant. I’m looking into the woman's face this time, bright green eyes that light up as I stroke my thumb over her hand.

“ _When are you gonna let me put a ring on that finger, Red?_ ” I murmur to her before she hides her blushing face away behind her captivating red locks and stares out of the window. It’s a black abyss outside, but I’m met with the reflection of the man. He’s tall, broad-shouldered and clean-shaven, and though he appears middle-aged he somehow still manages to look youthful and happy.

He looked so happy.

I ponder back to those words he said.

I never said that.

And I certainly didn't remember this place.

Or these people.

What was going on? These weren’t my memories.

Another flash hits me, this time with loud, panicked voices following.

The woman again. She’s holding a knife at me now, green eyes alert with fear as I attempt to take a step towards her with caution. Another woman, an older woman, stands behind her with the same look in her wide hazel eyes. We’re in a house now, there’s a broken vase beside me and my body is covered in a black skintight substance that fights me, or whoever I’m supposed to be, with every movement made.

“ _Peter, stop! This isn’t you!_ ” the younger woman, the woman I’ve seen in all these ‘ _memories_ ’ yells at me as I clutch my head. The voice is louder now, the urge to do something to stop her accusations growing with each passing second.

I want to tell her I don’t know what’s happening.

Instead, there’s a final flash before a blood-curdling scream hits my ears and I’m ripped from whatever strange dream I’ve been stuck in.

-

I shot up and released a startled gasp, gulping down air like my lungs hadn't experienced breathing in ages. What the hell _was_ that? Who were those people? Those memories? Most importantly, _where was I now?_

A shrill beeping beside me alerted my attention and I turned to see what I could only guess was a heart monitor whose bright green lines were now fluctuating rapidly as it tried to keep up with my wild heartbeat. I trailed the wire to my chest and delicately tore off the adhesive, immediately greeted with silence only dulled by the soft tune of what sounded like Claire de Lune to keep me company as I tried to recall what happened.

More wires. My thoughts were like sifting through a heavy fog until my eyes fell on the IV needle that lay nestled in my arm. I gritted my teeth before I removing it as delicately as possible, not like I had seen so many people rip it on in films and shows. I never understood how they could do that, especially now as I was met with the sight of blood that trickled down my arm in response.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. 

Renato. Phobus. The gunshot.

That terrifying black mass appearing before I-

I shivered at that thought, or maybe because all the sweat I had produced was now as cold as the room around me felt. All I knew was that right now I had to figure out where I was and get some answers.

My vision blurred briefly in the dark room only to clear as I began to look around. It looked like your typical medical room; various machines lining the walls with a very neat looking nursing station for what I assumed were for more special procedures in a nearby corner. 

It only occurred to me then that I had been resting in a gurney myself. I slumped forward and rubbed my face haphazardly to wipe any remaining exhaustion from my eyes before swinging my legs out to the floor. Even in my socks the tile was ice cold, and like clockwork, a series of overhead lights blinked to life at the sudden motion. I winced at the sudden brightness filling the room and fell back against the gurney to adjust to the change. Then I was met with something terrifying.

 **Nina**.

The voice was deep and guttural in my head but so loud that I jumped in surprise. 

_Who said that?_

"Is someone here…?" I asked, my voice dry and hoarse as if I hadn't spoken in weeks. I searched the room, even dared to wander to the desk nearby littered with papers and files.

No one was there.

A menacing growl that faded into an ominous chuckle filled the air and I stumbled forward. My legs were a constant mixture of lead and jelly as I wandered through the large room before freezing in my tracks. Across from me in the reflection of a glass medical cabinet stood that creature's face where mine should have been. 

I released a panicked scream and stumbled back, falling flat on my ass as I missed the gurney and instead felt my mind grow dizzy with fear and pain.

"This...this doesn't make sense...this isn't real, you’re supposed to be in jail…" I whispered to myself, hands shaking as the chuckle grew louder.

" **And _you're_ supposed to be dead! Funny how life works,**" it snarled smugly as I dared to stand and look at my reflection once more. 

The terrified face of a young woman stared back, black and blue hair half matted to her dark skin while the other half fell in loose curls around her shoulders. There was no monster.

It was just me. I was me again. 

I touched the fine black line that traveled across the bridge of my nose and sighed.

 _I must be hallucinating…,_ I thought loosely as I leaned against the counter for support, trying to ease my racing heart. I had to be, there was no other explanation to the sudden madness of seeing that creature here. _This is crazy, I must be going crazy._

**Not quite.**

I gasped in horror, scrambling to catch myself as I jumped back from the counter like it was the culprit to the reoccurring voice. My eyes scanned the room desperately, settling upon the only door leading out to god knows where and I bolted for it, desperate to escape the memory of the monster that was haunting me.

Instead, it slid open to reveal Renato with a hand ready to knock, his mouth agape at my startled figure.

“ _Nina_?” he gasped in surprise as my terrified appearance pushed past him into a brightly lit corridor. The flashes had returned, only this time I was not met with pictures but voices that overlapped one another. I clutched my head and closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on one but being met with many instead. I felt Renato grip my shoulders and call my name, worry etched in his voice. “Nina, speak to me. What’s going on?”

“Get off me!” I shouted, not because of what he said but because of what he now looked like when I looked up at him. He looked like that thing, that creature with its slick black skin and those long sharp teeth that snapped at me as I pushed myself away. 

I searched the area around me in a panic, trying to find an escape but to no avail. The corridor was now spinning and I was losing my edge fast, unable to process everything happening. Renato called to me and I turned once more, seeing the face of the worried man I knew well and I grimaced. I felt like I was going crazy, in fact, I _knew_ I was going crazy. Especially when I bumped into something hard and whipped my head around to see what it was.

Standing before me was a looming figure that stared down in what I could only guess was confusion. It was hard to tell. He was tall, taller than Ava or even Renato, but that wasn’t the strange part about him. It was _everything else_. He was covered in a fine blue fur that only seemed to end where his hardened facial features began and I gasped in shock.

“Miss, are you alright?” he asked me in a careful tone, but my hearing was muffled once more by those damn voices. Behind him on the wall, a set of sliding doors resembling an elevator dinged open and I rushed past him to flee, unable to answer his simple question. I listened with growing relief as their voices faded out as the doors slid shut and I was left alone once more.

“What’s happening to me…?” I whispered, slumping against the cool metal wall of what was now most definitely an elevator. Its slow hum confirmed this as it started it’s trek up and led me god knows where. I didn’t care, anywhere was better than where I had just been. My thoughts wandered back to Renato. Was that actually him? Was my mind just playing tricks on me again? He seemed real, but so did that blue creature, and the fact that I saw that monsters face on everyone I saw...

Inside a dark chuckle rang throughout my head and I felt my heart race once more.

**What do you think is happening to you, Nina?**

That voice again. I felt a chill run down my spine at it **’** s taunting tone and yet I couldn’t help but answer.

“I...I don’t know. What did you do? What _are_ you?” I whispered frantically, feeling the elevator stop abruptly moments later. Another blinding flash went off in my head before it could provide an answer, a new voice, a calming voice interrupting instead.

 _Nina, can you hear me?,_ He asked carefully. I nodded with hesitation before uttering a small ‘yes’ in response in case the mysterious stranger couldn’t see my mute response. This seemed to work as he continued.

 _Very good. Listen to me, you have to relax_ , he ordered, a voice that, the more I heard it, I swear I had heard before but just couldn’t place it. Another searing flash hit me and I found myself clutching my head in pain as the other tried to return. _We want to help you, this is a safe place._

“A safe place…? I don’t even know where I am,” I whispered, pressing myself against the wall as my appearance took the form of the monster once more in my reflection across from me. Its white eyes were narrowed into slits as it watched me, as if waiting to strike if I moved. I didn't know if that was even possible, but the fear had kept me so rooted in place that it didn't matter.

 **He’s lying** , the other sneered. More flashes, little pictures of memories that I knew weren’t mine and yet they still invaded my skull like a hammer on wood. I had had enough, I couldn’t take it anymore. **He wants to hurt you, to use you-**

“Get out of my head so I can think!” I shouted before bringing my fist to the metal door. I didn’t think it would leave a mark, I was never one strong enough for that. But I now stared at a heavy dent in the door that slowly slid open to reveal the outside and grimaced. I was greeted with silence, staring out into a room full of kids of various ages all staring back in shock at my outburst. There was nothing to say, what could I say after that other than ‘Where’s the exit?’ as I clutched my throbbing hand. A few lifted their hands to point to a corridor not far off and I uttered a small ‘thank you’ before booking it out of that room like a bat out of hell.

At any other moment, I would have marveled the interior of this place I had found myself in. It was grand, filled with wooden architecture that even Ava would have gone gaga over. Right now it just looked like an endless nightmare of corridors that I had no escape from no matter how much I ran.

I struggled forward, my brain too muddled and my body beginning to grow too hot with growing frustration as I searched desperately for an exit. Anything to calm the chaos swirling around in my head. And just like that, the familiar voice popped back into my thoughts, this time stern.

_Nina, you have to stop. We can’t help you if you won’t let us._

“It’s too hot, I can’t...I can’t…” I whispered to no one in particular. Even if I had wanted to listen to him my legs flat out refused his request, desperate to escape this hallway of horrors. All I could focus on was making it outside. Outside would have cold air, maybe an escape to these voices. Outside was going to save me.

 **Don’t listen to him** , the other commanded. I shook my head and rooted myself in place, suddenly very unaware of where I was. In my hurry to run I suddenly found myself at a crossroads with growing panic spreading through me.

_Nina, please-_

**NINA-**

“Arrêter de parler!” I shouted to no one in particular. My voice must have carried through the halls because more little heads of curious children began to poke out of the rooms nearby to see who was causing the sudden commotion. The eyes, the whispers, the incessant orders being given in my head were all growing to be too much. The room was beginning to spin violently now and I could no longer keep up with anything. 

With a quick turn of my heel, I gathered up what remaining strength I had to head back to where I had been, to confront Renato or who I thought was him, for answers and help. Anything to make everything _stop_.

Instead, I found myself smacking directly into something very hard. The heavy clang of metal contact connecting with my skull rang through my ears before I hit the ground, only the faint whisper of ‘Bohze moi…’, being heard before my world turned black once more.

On one hand, I knew that I was in for a very awkward awakening when I woke back up after this run in. On the other hand, the voices had been silenced, and that was all that mattered to me.

I was finally able to have some peace.


End file.
